British comedy-drama THE DUKE will have its World Premiere at the 2020 Venice Film Festival.
The film stars Academy Award winners Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren and other cast includes Fionn Whitehead, Matthew Goode and Anna Maxwell Martin. The film was directed by BAFTA Award Winner Roger Michell from a script by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman.
The film is a moving true story that celebrates a man who was determined to live a meaningful life.
‘The Duke’ filmed in Leeds, Bradford and London with investment from Screen Yorkshire’s Yorkshire Content Fund.
Jim Broadbent and Hele Mirren in 'The Duke'
In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60-year old taxi driver, stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery’s history.
Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly – he had long campaigned for pensioners to receive free television.
What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge – Kempton had spun a web of lies. The only truth was that he was a good man, determined to change the world and save his marriage – how and why he used the Duke to achieve that is a wonderfully uplifting tale.
As the world grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic, THE DUKE is a timely exploration of the need to recognise that we are all connected, that the health of each depends on the health of all.
THE DUKE is a Pathé, Ingenious Media and Screen Yorkshire presentation of a Neon Films Production. Nicky Bentham is the Producer and the Executive Producers are Cameron McCracken and Jenny Borgars for Pathé, Andrea Scarso for Ingenious Media, Hugo Heppell for Screen Yorkshire, Peter Scarf and Christopher Bunton.
Director Roger Michell reunites with his creative team from My Cousin Rachel: Director of Photography Mike Eley, Costume Designer Dinah Collin and Editor Kristina Hetherington. Make Up and Hair Designer is Karen Hartley Thomas (The Personal History of David Copperfield) and Production Designer is Kristian Milsted (Killing Eve).
Pathé will release the film in the UK in Spring 2021 and will also distribute the film in France and Switzerland as well as manage sales for the rest of the world.