Simon Callow’s comedy drama About A Bell, starring Omid Djalili, has been boarded for sales by the UK’s Kaleidoscope Film Distribution (KFD) ahead of Cannes.
In a quiet English commuter town, a former parish church is knocked down to make way for a new apartment block. A Syrian refugee is upset by the lack of respect for local history. After unearthing the site’s origins with the help of a young librarian, the unlikely friends take action.
Further cast includes Eleanor Worthington-Cox, Christopher Eccleston, Nigel Havers and Roger Allam.
The film, now in post, is produced by Jasper Warry, founder and CEO of Wales-based Hello Deer Studios, with Joel Atley and Lamia Nayeb co-producing, and has been made in association with Djalili and Shahin Sobhani’s Tiny Speck Productions (UK), and Peter De Maegd from Potemkino (Belgium).
The project was made with production finance from Ffilm Cymru and Creative Wales, and tax credit finance from Elevation Films.
It is the Four Weddings And A Funeral UK actor’s second feature as director, after 1991 Berlin premiere The Ballad Of The Sad Café.
KFD reps international sales (excluding airlines and ships).
“I think this film will resonate with an international audience who are desperate to be entertained, but also to be reminded right now of our shared and innate decency and humanity,” said Warry.
“It was a great joy working with this remarkable, funny, heart-filled script, and with a varied and brilliant troupe of actors,” added Callow.
“There is no doubt about the international appeal of About A Bell as it deeply resonates on so many levels regarding who we are as a species,” noted Djalili.
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