UDI to sell Peter Mullan-starrer Hector

UDI has picked up international sales on Hector, starring Peter Mullan as a long-term homeless man who attempts to reconnect with his past life.

The working-titled picture is the first feature for photographer Jake Gavin.

The heart-warming tale follows a homeless man who decides to seek out his old life after years of wandering aimlessly.

It follows Mullan’s character over the course of a wintery fortnight as he heads south from Scotland to a temporary Christmas shelter in London and finally an emotional reunion with his long-lost family.

Shooting started earlier this week on location in Glasgow and will continue in London via Liverpool. The picture is scheduled for an autumn delivery.

Hector (which was originally titled Victor) is produced by Stephen Malit, producer of Julien Temple’s documentary London – The Modern Babylon, with Scottish co-producer Simon Mallinson. 

David Raedecker, who picked up Sundance’ best cinematography prize in 2012 for his work on Sally El Hosaini’s My Brother The Devil, is also attached to the project.

Other cast members include Gina McKee, Stephen Tompkinson, Ewan Stewart, Sharon Rooney and Keith Allen.

Frédéric Corvez, chief of Paris-based UDI, said: “We’ve always admired Peter Mullan’s strong acting work and we’re very happy to come aboard his next endeavour.”

“Frederic and the team at UDI are the perfect partner for Hector. Their enthusiasm for the project is now being reflected by the great cast and crew we have assembled for Jake to bring our touching story to the screen,” said Malit and Mallinson in a joint statement.

Other titles on the UDI slate include Berlinale selection, Argentine Matias Lucchesi’s Natural Sciences, about a girl from remote mountain community’s search for her father and true identity, and Tsai Ming Liang’s Journey to the West, starring Denis Lavant and Lee Kang Sheng. 

It it also handling Italian film Like the Wind, starring Valerie Golino as Italy’s first female prison governor, and pre-selling Marianne Tardieu’s gritty, urban drama Insecure, starring Reda Kateb and Adèle Exarchopoulos, and Quebecois Maxime Giroux’s Felix & Meira, the latest production from Denis Coté’s producers Sylvain Corbeil and Nancy Grant at Montreal-based Metafilms.