julian ovenden gemma whelan joely richardson c carnival film and television hbo wikimedia commons

Source: Carnival Film & Television, HBO, Wikimedia Commons

Julian Ovenden, Gemma Whelan, Joely Richardson

Studio Soho’s family Christmas feature Surviving Christmas is now shooting with Julian Ovenden (Downton Abbey), Gemma Whelan (Game Of Thrones), Joely Richardson (101 Dalmations) and Michael Landes (Burlesque) all on board.

Sally Phillips (I’m Alan Partridge), Ronni Ancona (The Big Impression), Patricia Hodge (The Elephant Man) and James Fox (Thoroughly Modern Millie) round out the cast.

Principle photography on the festive feature commenced on April 3 in Hertfordshire, with the shoot later moving to London.

The film is written and directed by James Dearden (Oscar-nominated for best adapted screenplay for Fatal Attraction) and produced by Nick Hamson (Premonition) with Hamson and Chris Wood’s Studio Soho Films. It is a comic tale of two sisters looking to endure the holiday period with their families in their recently deceased parents’ dilapidated country house.

London-based Studio Soho was established in 2015, encompassing development, production and distribution arms. Surviving Christmas is their third film, after 2016’s Mum’s List and BIFA-nominated My Feral Heart.

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