Saoirse Ronan is set to star in Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun, a UK-Germany collaboration that Protagonist Pictures is launching at the European Film Market (EFM, February 10-17).
Protagonist will executive produce the project and is arranging financing; it will co-represent the North American sales with CAA Media Finance. The film is adapted from Amy Liptrot’s memoir of the same name, with Fingscheidt writing the adaptation alongside Liptrot.
The film has been developed by Sarah Brocklehurst through her newly-launched Brock Media; Screen reported the optioning of the book in 2019. Brocklehurst will produce the film through Brock Media, alongside Ronan, Jack Lowden and Dominic Norris under their recently-founded Arcade Pictures, alongside Mogambo’s Ignacio Salazar-Simpson and Ricardo Marco.
It a co-production with Jonas Weydermann and Jakob D. Wedemann of Germany outfit. Weydemann Bros. BBC Film and Screen Scotland have backed development.
Ronan will play woman who returns from rehab to the Orkney Islands. As she reconnects with the landscape where she grew up, memories of her childhood merge with more recent challenging events that have set her on the path to recovery.
“It was Amy’s voice that first drew me to The Outrun,” said Ronan. “Her unusual way of seeing things in a way that perhaps you only can when you’ve been to the darkest place you can go within yourself. I have been waiting to play a part like this – the messiness, hopefulness, dreaminess, authenticity and humor we want to achieve – I’ve been scared of it, but with Nora I feel ready.”
“Amy´s intriguing and poetic story shows how one can find their lives broken into pieces, and that recovery can happen in the most unexpected of ways and places,” added Fingscheidt. “There are wonderful gifts already in place to make this a powerful and immersive film. One is the setting, the vast and cinematic landscapes of the Orkney islands; the other is our main actress, Saoirse Ronan, who brings magic to the screen with her unique mix of charisma and emotional depth.”
Fingscheidt’s debut feature System Crasher premiered at the 2019 Berlinale, winning the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize. It went on to take eight German Film Awards including best picture, director and screenplay, and was selected as Germany’s entry to best international feature at the 92nd Academy Awards. Her second feature The Unforgivable, starring Sandra Bullock, was released on Netflix in December 2021.
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