Wasteland to shoot in September.

Born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, 30 years ago, writer-director Rowan Athale did not go to film school. “I was about to,” he says, “but I got a job as a runner in a production house and one thing led to another.” Most recently, to the accomplished 2010 short film A Good Life, starring Daisy Haggard and Tom Harper. He admits it was made as a calling card — there was a lot of interest in his original script, Wasteland, and he needed to show he could direct. The ploy worked. The gripping Wasteland is now with Moli Films, readying up for a September shoot with Timothy Spall, Luke Treadaway and Gerard Kearns set to star. It will, of course, be set in Yorkshire. “In the last six weeks, things have been falling into place and I have to hope it carries on,” says Athale. “I want to punch my fists in the air but maybe I’ll wait until the day before the start of shoot.”

Contact: Mady Niel - madyniel@independenttalent.com