Poliakoff returns to 1939
BAFTA winning director Stephen Poliakoff has commenced principal photography on his thriller 1939, set in the lead-up to WWII. The film marks his return to the big screen after a gap of a decade since his previous features, which include the multiple-award winning Close My Eyes.
The film, which boasts of a stellar cast including Romola Garai, Bill Nighy, Julie Christie, Christopher Lee, Jeremy Northam and David Tennant, will shoot in London and Norfolk.
1939 is a talkbackTHAMES production in association with Magic Light Pictures, funded by BBC Films, Quickfire Films, the UK Film Council (UKFC) and Screen East.
Poliakoff said, “I’m very excited to be making this film about a period that has always fascinated me, the extraordinary machinations that went on in British society on the eve of war.”
Lorraine Heggessey of talkbackThames said, “We are thrilled to be producing Stephen’s return to the big screen and talkbackTHAMES’ first theatrical release. We have co-produced award-winning television drama with Stephen for the last ten years and it is a great honour to continue to work with one of the UK’s leading auteurs.”
Jane Wright, Head of Rights and Commercial Affairs, BBC Films added, “Stephen Poliakoff’s compelling script really draws you into the heart of the characters in this remarkable drama.”
Sally Caplan, Head of the UKFC’s Premiere Fund, said, “This is a chilling and remarkable thriller based on fact which, although period, has great contemporary relevance. With Stephen Poliakoff directing this outstanding script and exceptional cast of new and established British talent, I am sure this will mark a triumphant return to the big screen.”
Momentum Pictures has acquired theatrical and home entertainment rights.
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