Beta Cinema adds "500 Miles" to its EFM Line Up - starring BILL NIGHY AND JOJO RABBIT’S ROMAN GRIFFIN DAVIS

Beta Cinema has acquired international sales rights to 500 Miles by BAFTA Award-winning director Morgan Matthews (X+Y, Williams) from Origin Pictures, Port Pictures and Minnow Films and will launch sales at the upcoming European Film Market. 

Academy Award nominated Bill Nighy is lined up to star as the grandfather of Jojo Rabbit’s Roman Griffin Davis in a thrilling road movie full of heart, wit and wonder. The story follows a broken family forced to come together when sixteen-year-old Finn (Davis) and his livewire younger brother Charlie run away from trouble at home in England to reach their estranged grandfather (Nighy) on Ireland’s stunning and wild west coast.

Morgan Matthews, director of acclaimed drama X+Y (A Brilliant Young Mind), starring Asa Butterfield and Sally Hawkins, and beloved documentary Williams, is set to direct from a script by award-winning writer Malcolm Campbell (What Richard Did, Herself, Ackley Bridge), based on the much-loved novel Charlie and Me by Mark Lowery.  

Former Head of BBC Film David Thompson (Billy Elliot, Notes on a Scandal, Woman in Gold, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) is producing with Alex Gordon and Keren Misgav Ristvedt for Origin Pictures (Hope Gap, Sense of an Ending, A Brilliant Young Mind), Martina Niland (Once, Sing Street) from Dublin based Port Pictures, and Minnow Films. The project is being prepped to shoot in Kerry.

Bill Nighy was Academy Award nominated for his performance in his recent film Living, another step in a multiple award-winning career including memorable roles in British hits About Time and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The now sixteen-year-old Roman Griffin Davis played the leading role in Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit in 2019, earning him a Golden Globe Nomination and Critic’s Choice Award for the Best Young Performer. The film became a box office success and was nominated for six Academy Awards.

The standout casting is by casting director Louise Kiely (Banshees of Inisherin, Normal People, The Green Knight). 

Tassilo Hallbauer, Head of Sales and Acquisitions at Beta Cinema says, "We are delighted to launch 500 Miles at EFM. The script takes us on an emotional, often hilariously funny, yet deeply moving journey through some of the most beautiful parts of the UK and Ireland. In Jojo Rabbit, Roman Griffin Davis demonstrated his brilliant talent for portraying deep character roles with a unique sense of humour. With Bill Nighy's involvement, following his pivotal, Oscar-nominated performance in Living, Origin Pictures are assembling a dream cast. 500 Miles offers top-tier escapism and will resonate with international audiences of all ages."

David Thompson of Origin Pictures adds, ”We are delighted to be launching this wonderful project with such a brilliant cast and director. 500 Miles is both hilarious and heart wrenching and ultimately rather life affirming. It has such an original take on the world and will be a truly unforgettable film.”