23 February 2013
Newsdesk
Creative England, BFI Film Fund and BBC Films have given a greenlight to Norfolk, a thriller from director Martin Radich and producer Finlay Pretsell, and the first film to be taken into production from the iFeatures2 development slate announced last October.
A flagship initiative for Creative England, iFeatures has already established itself as a natural home for some of the UK's most distinctive up and coming filmmaking talent.
Norfolk will be Martin’s second feature film, following on from his low budget debut Crack Willow in 2008. It also marks the first collaboration between the BAFTA-nominated, Yorkshire-based writer/director and Glasgow-based Finlay who co-produced and co-directed the BAFTA Scotland winning Ma Bar (2008), and has produced two short documentaries recently for BBC and Creative Scotland.
Norfolk tells the story of an assassin and his young son hiding out in an apparent rural idyll. As the man’s unspeakable past starts to catch up with him, two very different worlds collide and he is finally forced to confront what is right and what is wrong in order to protect his family's future.
TRISTAN GOLIGHER, iFeatures2 Executive Producer, commented: “Martin is without a doubt one of the most original film makers in the UK today. Norfolk shows all the individuality and humanity of his previous work, whilst also stepping into new territory. The landscape of the Norfolk broads will serve Martin's vision for this unique, violent and allegorical tale."
Three further projects – Spaceship from writer/director Alex Taylor, The Den from writer Ed Hime and director Al Mackay and The Goob from writer/director Guy Myhill – remain on the iFeatures2 development roster with a decision due in late March as to which two will follow Norfolk into production this summer.
All ‘greenlit’ filmmakers will continue to benefit from an intensive programme of professional development support, courtesy of the Creative Skillset’s Film Skills Fund. This includes workshops, high-level industry mentoring and shadowing opportunities as well as guidance around sales, distribution and online marketing.
