Jim Broadbent Filming in Kingsbridge
It’s Lights-Camera-Action in Kingsbridge
Excitement on Kingsbridge Fore Street as shoppers are invited to be extras in the filming of a British motion picture tipped to win the hearts of cinemagoers and led by one of the nation’s most illustrious actors.
View this post on Instagram
Several locations in the South Hams market town are set to feature in the forthcoming film The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry starring Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent.
Based on the international bestselling novel by Rachel Joyce, this tender and redemptive story begins at a Kingsbridge town house and follows protagonist Harold as he embarks on a 450-mile journey to be at the bedside of former colleague Queenie Hennessy who is dying in a hospice.
Starstruck townsfolk stopped for selfies and chats with Jim as he made his way across the town square and up Fore Street to film one of the story’s opening scenes in which his character, the eponymous Harold, has an epiphany at a Post Office.
View this post on Instagram
The eight-week filming schedule takes place in locations up and down the country. The cast also includes Penelope Wilton, best known for her roles as Homily in The Borrowers and Isobel Crawley in award-winning ITV drama Downton Abbey.
BAFTA-winning director, Hettie Macdonald, who also directed BBC and Hulu hit Normal People, believes the novel was destined for cinema describing it as “a raw and emotional portrait of a man battling long-buried feelings of grief and guilt in a vast landscape.”
Author Rachel Joyce said: “This story is a deeply personal one that has been with me for many years…Reimagining it with Hettie has lifted it to a new level and I know she will make a film that will be beautiful, universal and truthful.”
We look forward to finding out about the film’s release date and seeing our beloved hometown Kingsbridge on the big screen.