Saoirse Roan is the star of the next film. “The Unforgivable”Nora Fingscheidt directs a drama that is based on a personal memoir. “The Outrun.”
“The Outrun” is based on Amy Liptrot’s 2016 award-winning memoir of the same name, and the film will be introduced to buyers at the upcoming European Film Market.
Ronan will play Rona, a woman who has just come out of rehab and returns to Orkney Islands where she was a child after more than a decade. As she reconnects with the dramatic landscape where she grew up, memories of her childhood merge with the more recent challenging events that have set her on the path to recovery.
In collaboration with Liptrot, Fingscheidt adapted the text.
“The Outrun” was optioned and has been developed by Sarah Brocklehurst’s Brock Media, which will produce the feature alongside Ronan, Jack Lowden and Dominic Norris under their recently founded banner Arcade Pictures. Mogambo’s Ignacio Salazar-Simpson and Ricardo Marco will also produce.
Jonas Weydemann and Jakob D. Weydemann, co-producers at Weydemann Bros. Screen Scotland also supported the development. Protagonist Pictures is responsible for executive producing the project and arranging financing.
Protagonist Pictures handles worldwide sales. They will also introduce buyers to EFM. The company will be co-rep North American sales for CAA Media Finance.
“It was Amy’s voice that first drew me to ‘The Outrun.’ 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,”Ronan made the statement in a statement. “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,” Fingscheidt added. “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!”
“Nora, with her mesmerizing filmmaking style, and Saoirse, with her endless skill and bravery are the perfect team to bring Amy’s award-winning memoir to screen,”Janina Villmaier, head sales at Protagonist Pictures stated in a statement. “’The Outrun’ will be an incredibly cinematic and powerful film, which will offer us a glimpse into the life of this amazing young woman, transporting us on an emotional and ultimately life affirming journey.”
Liptrot’s memoir won the 2016 Wainwright Prize and the 2017 PEN Ackerley Prize and was a Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller. The book was published in 15 languages, and sold more than 110,000 copies in the U.K.
Rebecca Watson of VHA was the one who negotiated film deals for the book, on behalf James Macdonald Lockhart from Antony Harwood Ltd.
Ronan, a four-time Oscar nominee, will next be seen in Searchlight Pictures’ murder-mystery film “See How They Run”Sam Rockwell.
Fingscheidt serves as the director of “System Crasher,” which won the Silver Bear at the Berlinale in 2019, and is the director of 2021’s “The Unforgivable,” starring Sandra Bullock on Netflix.
Casarotto Ramsay and Associates represents Nora, Ilene Feldman Management and Agentur Homebase. Ronan is represented at MacFarlane Chard and CAA.