Digital Departures Filmmakers at Cannes

Vision and Media will be hosting a breakfast event at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday May 21 to celebrate the Official Cannes Selection of Digital Departures documentary, Of Time and the City, made by renowned British director, Terence Davies, together with Merseyside-based producers, Sol Papadopoulos and Roy Boulter.

The Right Hon Andy Burnham MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, will attend the invitation-only event, which will show how the Northwest is leading the way in micro-budget feature filmmaking.

Of Time and the City is one of the three feature films currently being made in Liverpool as part of the cutting edge Digital Departures micro-budget filmmaking initiative.

Together with horror film, Salvage, and drama, Starstruck, the documentary is due to be premiered in Liverpool in the autumn as part of the 08 Capital of Culture celebrations. Filmmakers from each of the three Digital Departures projects will also attend the Cannes breakfast event, talking about their experiences of taking part in the ground-breaking initiative.

Regional screen agency, Northwest Vision and Media, who devised the Digital Departures scheme together with partners the Liverpool Culture Company, the UK Film Council and the BBC, is confident all three films will make a huge impression, both nationally and internationally.

“Everyone at Digital Departures is delighted that the Terence Davies documentary has been chosen for a Special Screening at the Cannes Film Festival, giving us the chance to launch our first film on the international stage at Cannes,” says Vision and Media’s Lisa Marie Russo, Executive Producer on all three Digital Departure films.

Speaking of his film’s inclusion at Cannes, Sol Papadopoulos said he was delighted the documentary would be seen by some of the world’s leading film critics.

“We’re so proud of the film, and we’re so thrilled that it’s being given a Special Screening,” says Sol.

It’s an incredible honour, and it’s wonderful news for the whole Digital Departures project and for Liverpool that one of the three winning films is to be shown at Cannes,” adds Sol.

Chris Moll, Executive Producer at Vision and Media and the originator of the Digital Departures initiative, also welcomed the news from Cannes. “Seeing the Digital Departures initiative come to life with its unique blend of new and established talent has been one of my proudest moments. I’ve watched with growing admiration as each film has evolved and created its own unique ambience.

“It’s the character and mood of Terence’s film which shines through and I’m sure it will be warmly received at Cannes and will have a broad, international appeal,” says Chris.

Terence Davies has a long-standing relationship with the Cannes Film Festival, where he won the International Critics Award in 1988 for Distant Voices, Still Lives. Of Time And The City is another film in his outstanding body of work that is deeply influenced by his Liverpool upbringing.