The British premiere of Overtakingstarring Saoirse Ronan, will open this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), it has been announced.
In Nora Fingscheidt’s adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s best-selling memoir of the same name, Ronan’s character finds herself stranded on the Scottish islands of Orkney as she struggles to rebuild her life after a decade of addiction.
Ronan, who also co-produced the film, will join filmmaker Nora Fingscheidt (System crash) present at this year’s EIFF, which takes place August 15-21, alongside writer Amy Liptrot and the film’s producers Sarah Brocklehurst and Dominic Norris.
The film had its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and will be distributed by StudioCanal in the UK and Ireland on September 27.
The EIFF also revealed the name of its short film competition: The Thelma Schoonmaker Award for Excellence in Short Filmmaking. Schoonmaker is celebrated for her iconic work as an editor on defining moments in cinema history and for her legendary collaborations with Martin Scorsese, including furious bull, The Freedmen, the wolf of Wall Street And Flower Moon Killers.
“Overtaking is a truly special film,” said EIFF Director Paul Ridd. “Powered by a powerhouse, fearless performance from Saoirse Ronan, this is lyrical and memorable cinema of real rigor and intelligence, and exactly the kind of bold work we want to champion with our revived festival.”
“I have been a fan of Nora Fingscheidt’s uncompromising and emotional cinema since her debut System crash and I can think of no more appropriate combination of announcements than this wonderful film opening with confirmation of the legendary Thelma Schoonmaker’s gracious support for our Short Film Prize. We are honored to work with such phenomenal women in cinema.
Overtaking was developed and produced by Sarah Brocklehurst of Brock Media, Dominic Norris of Arcade Pictures, Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden, with support from BBC Film and Screen Scotland.
Executive producers on Overtaking are Protagonist Pictures, BBC Film, Screen Scotland and MBK Productions.
The full EIFF program launches on Thursday July 4 when tickets also go on sale.
