Downhill
British film is already having a terrific year, and there are a whole host of movies not to miss this summer.
We take a look at some of the independent British films that are set to hit the big screen over the next couple of months.
Therefore, if you are looking for something a little different, these could well be the movies of you.
- Downhill - released 30th May
James Rouse makes his feature film directorial debut this week as Downhill hits the big screen.
We are also going to be introduced to the writing talents of Torben Betts, as this is his first movie screenplay to be made into a feature.
Ned Dennehy, Richard Lumsden, Jeremy Swift, and Karl Theobald team up to play four friends who reunite to do the coast-to-coast walk: a walk they did do during the filming process.
Downhill is a movie that is warm and funny, and the improvisation that drives the film makes it feel incredibly real and genuine.
Betts and Rouse really do make a great writing and directing team, and it would be great to see them develop together as artists: they really could end up making a formidable filmmaking team.
- Benny & Jolene - released 6th June
Another first time filmmaker this summer is Jamie Adams, as he helms the upcoming Benny & Jolene.
Adams has worked in the editorial department as well as working in TV, before making the transition into the director's chair.
Starring Craig Roberts and Charlotte Ritchie, the movie follows musician Jolene, who is having trouble convincing her writing partner Benny to become more commercial.
Too many industry types get involved, leaving Jolene feeling dazed and confused and Benny marginalised.
Roberts made his breakthrough with Submarine, but Benny & Jolene will mark the big screen debut for Ritchie.
- Keeping Rosy - released 27th June
It is all about directorial debuts this summer, as Steve Reeves is another filmmaker we are going to be introduced to.
Reeves has directed and written Keeping Rosy, a project that sees him team up with Blake Harrison, Maxine Peake, and Christine Bottomley.
Peake has already delivered one terrific performance this year with Run & Jump, and I am excited to see her return.
The movie follows Charlotte who is passed over for a job, and takes out her anger on her cleaner when she gets home.
While Charlotte’s life disintegrates, we follow her on a heart-racing journey of self-discovery, atonement, and danger as she fights for a future that is rosy.
- Bastards - released 27th June
A documentary to watch out for this summer comes in the form of Bastards, as Deborah Perkin returns to the director's chair.
Bastards tells the moving and uplifting story of Rabha El Haimer and her heroic fight to have her informal marriage recognized and her daughter legitimized by the Moroccan judicial system.
It is also a complex and compelling portrait of the lives of ordinary women in Morocco, caught between the demands of Islamic tradition and their desires for individual rights within a male-dominated, Islamic society.
We have already been treated to some wonderful documentaries so far this year, and Bastards looks set to be another really great watch.
Perkin spent four years researching and negotiating unprecedented access. She spent many months living amongst her subjects in a Casablanca slum, and persuaded the Moroccan Ministry of Justice to allow her to film inside a family court, a privilege rarely, if ever, granted to a filmmaker before.
- Blackwood - released 1st August
Adam Wimpenny makes the leap into feature film this summer as horror film Blackwood hits the big screen.
Wimpenny kicked off his career in television and now he is bringing J.S. Hill's screenplay to the big screen.
A terrific cast has been assembled for the film, as Ed Stoppard, Sophia Myles, Russell Tovey, Paul Kaye and Isaac Andrews are all on board.
After suffering an emotional breakdown, Professor Ben Marshall has moved to the countryside with his wife and young son as they look to start afresh.
However, not long after the move Ben starts to feel that there is something wrong with the house. Soon, he is pushed to the brink of sanity as he tries to discover the truth.
Downhill is released 30th May.