Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is delighted to announce that Francis Lee\u2019s debut feature GOD\u2019S OWN COUNTRY will open the 71st edition of the Festival on 21 June, 2017.<\/p>\n
Shot entirely on location in West Yorkshire, GOD\u2019S OWN COUNTRY is a contemporary tale of self discovery and emotional-awakening set on the sheep farming hills of rural Northern England.<\/p>\n
Rising star Josh O\u2019Connor<\/strong> (The Riot Club, The Durrells) takes on the central role of Johnny, a young man carrying the weight of his family\u2019s sheep farm alone until the arrival of Romanian worker Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu).<\/p>\n Supporting the central pair are acting stalwarts Ian Hart<\/strong> (Harry Potter and the Philosopher\u2019s Stone, The Last Kingdom) and Gemma Jones <\/strong>(Spooks, Bridget Jones\u2019s Diary), who respectively play Jack\u2019s stroke-afflicted father Martin and formidable grandmother Deidre. Key cast will be in attendance on Opening night.<\/p>\n Mark Adams, EIFF Artistic Director commented:<\/strong> \u201cWe are thrilled to be staging the UK premiere of Francis Lee\u2019s accomplished debut, GOD\u2019S OWN COUNTRY<\/strong>. This hotly-tipped feature debut is one to watch in this incredible year for independent film and perfectly reflects the Festival\u2019s ongoing dedication to delivering audiences the most original and artistically accomplished work in international cinema.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnny Saxby<\/strong> (Josh O\u2019Connor) works long hours on his family\u2019s remote farm in the north of England. He numbs the daily frustration of his lonely existence with nightly binge-drinking at the local pub and casual sex.<\/p>\n As they begin working closely together during lambing season, an intense relationship starts to form which could change Johnny\u2019s life forever.<\/p>\n Captivating and broodingly beautiful, GOD\u2019S OWN COUNTRY<\/strong> is the award-winning debut feature from writer\/director Francis Lee. Bracingly open hearted, this is a thrillingly romantic story set in the heart of rural Yorkshire.<\/p>\n Both poignant and moving, this finely crafted British film features a host of standout performances, marking it out as an absolute must see.<\/p>\n Yorkshire-born director Francis Lee commented:<\/strong> “It\u2019s a great privilege that GOD\u2019S OWN COUNTRY<\/strong> has been selected as the Opening Night film of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.<\/p>\n After the incredible critical and audience responses to the film in both Sundance and Berlin earlier in the year, I’m thrilled to bring GOD\u2019S OWN COUNTRY<\/strong> to the UK for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n Following its UK premiere at the Festival, distributor Picturehouse Entertainment will be releasing GOD’S OWN COUNTRY<\/strong> on Friday 1 September, 2017.<\/p>\n Tickets will go on sale at 10am on Wednesday 10 May through the EIFF website.<\/p>\n For more information visit www.edfilmfest.org.uk.<\/strong> EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES THE UK PREMIERE OF GOD\u2019S OWN COUNTRY AS THE 2017 OPENING NIGHT GALA Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is delighted to announce that Francis Lee\u2019s debut feature GOD\u2019S OWN COUNTRY will open the 71st edition of the Festival on 21 June, 2017. Shot entirely on location in West Yorkshire, GOD\u2019S […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nEdinburgh film Festival<\/h2>\n
\n The 71st edition of EIFF runs from 21 June – 2 July, 2017.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"