Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard Wrap Performance Film ‘The Extraordinary Miss Flower’ Starring Icelandic Artist Emilíana Torrini & Caroline Catz; Richard Ayoade, Nick Cave, Alice Lowe, Mark Monero & More Play Supporting Roles
EXCLUSIVE: Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, the filmmaking duo behind BAFTA-nominated Nick Cave pic 20,000 Days on Earth, have just wrapped filming a new performance film dubbed The Extraordinary Miss Flower. The project brings to life the remarkable story of Geraldine Flower and the discovery of a suitcase of letters sent to her in the 1960s and 1970s that inspired acclaimed Icelandic singer-songwriter Emilíana Torrini to return to the studio.
The film, which is described as “part film, part theatre, part fever dream”, takes the form of a series of specially designed performances by Torrini and her band combined with dramatic scenes and readings of letters from well-known actors and musicians.
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Torrini performs 10 songs and also acts for the first time alongside Caroline Catz (Delia Derbyshire: The Myths and Legendary Tapes) who plays Miss Flower while Richard Ayoade, Siggi Baldursson, Nick Cave, Alice Lowe, Mark Monero, Niall Murphy and Angus Sampson feature in supporting roles as well as the voice of Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Renowned choreographer Kate Coyne (former associate at the Michael Clark company) performs alongside Viva Seifert and Saeed Esmaeli while the band is formed by Simon Byrt, Mara Carlyle, Liam Hutton, Ian Kellett and Lovisa Sigrunardottir.
The Extraordinary Miss Flower is backed by Sam Dyson and Distiller Music and was shot at Distillery II studio. Zoe Flower produces while Andy Starke co-produces.
Ben Wheatley, Beth Earl, Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdottir are exec producers. Key crew includes cinematographer Erik Wilson BSC, Byrt as musical director, Susie Coulthard (costume designer), Emma Rios (production designer / illustrator) and Anna Randall (hair and make-up designer).
The project started with a remarkable discovery made by Torrini and her friends, Zoe Flower and her husband Byrt, following the passing of Zoe’s mother (Geraldine Flower) when they found a case of treasured letters, telexes and photographs belonging to Geraldine. Delving through the case they uncovered traces of an extraordinary life full of secrets and lifelong friendships, tales of travel, adventure, and love.
Fueled by these fragments, Torrini embarked on a creative odyssey and created a suite of new songs with her long-time musical collaborator Byrt inspired by the letters. Miss Flower will mark Torrini’s first solo record in a decade and represents an evocation of a woman’s life reimagined.
“We spend an outrageous amount of time thinking about new ways to hybridize music and film,” said Forsyth and Pollard. “After a chance meeting in with Emilíana in Reykjavik, we knew she’d be a remarkable collaborator for a hybrid project like this. She’s spellbinding, a true raconteur with a permanent twinkle in her eye. This film is about capturing an alchemical performance in collaboration with the camera. For us, that point of intersection is where real magic happens.”
Torrini added: “Being involved in this film was a mad and riveting experience. I’ve never been on a film set like this before and I still don’t really know what happened. I am in total awe of Zoe, Iain and Jane to pull this off in such a short time. The artists and crew were incredible and showed such a deep understanding of where these songs came from, emotionally and creatively. A huge thank you to Sam and the team at Distiller for believing in the project and supporting us.”
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