“My Summer of Love”, a film directed by Pawel Pawlikowski and acquired by ContentFilm for UK distribution, has won the Michael Powell Award for Best New British Feature Film at the 2004 Edinburgh Film Festival. The film, scripted by Pawlikowski and Michael Wynne, is based on the novel by Helen Cross that was published in 2001. Pawel Pawlikowski first found acclaim four years ago with his gritty feature “Last Resort”, the 2000 winner of the Michael Powell Award and also a Bafta for the director as most promising newcomer. “My Summer of Love” is in a different vein, a Yorkshire-based love story between two sixteen-year old girls, Mona and Tamsin, played by newcomers Natalie Press and Emily Blunt. Mona, a working class girl, meets the upper class Tamsin and the two lonely teenagers begin a clandestine love affair. The complementary narrative thread comes from Mona’s older brother, Phil, played by Paddy Considine who collaborated with Pawlikowski on “Last Resort” and starred in Shane Meadows’ “A Room for Romeo Brass” and the current “Dead Man’s Shoes”. Phil, the local publican, is also an ex-con with a violent past who has found God. Mick Southworth, ContentFilm’s CEO – UK Distribution, said: ‘We are delighted that the first film that we have acquired after merging Winchester and Content should have received the acclaim that was evident to everybody at Edinburgh last week.’ ContentFilm plans the general UK release of “My Summer of Love” for 22 October 2004.
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For enquiries please call: Tim Allan or Andrew Sholl, Portland, for Content Film plc on 020 7404 5344
Notes
- ContentFilm plc is a London based film production, distribution and financing company. It has operations in Los Angeles, New York and London. It was formed in March 2004 through a reverse takeover of Winchester Entertainment plc by ContentFilm, Inc, a New York based film production company. The group’s strategy is to build a fully integrated international film business, producing high quality films on disciplined budgets and developing an enhanced international sales and distribution business in the US and Europe.
- The Michael Powell Award is a tribute to one of England’s most individual film directors who died in 1990. Previous winners since its inauguration in 1993 include David Mackenzie’s “Young Adam”, starring Tilda Swinton and Ewan McGregor, Tim Roth’s “The War Zone”, John Maybury’s “Love is the Devil”, starring Derek Jacobie (as Francis Bacon) and Daniel Craig, Michael Winterbottom’s “Jude”, Antonia Bird’s “Priest” and “Derek Jarman’s “Blue”.
- “My Summer of Love” is a BBC Films, The Film Consortium and Baker Street film in association with the UK Film Council. A Take Partnerships production of an Apocalypso picture.
