Tina Gharavi’s Virginia Woolf adaptation gets the red carpet treatment
The North East Production Fund-supported Night and Day was filmed at locations including Beamish, The Common Room and Newcastle’s Lit & Phil
A star-studded film shot partly in Newcastle and County Durham is heading to cinemas this month after receiving the red carpet treatment this week at the opening night of SXSW London.
Virginia Woolf’s Night & Day, which was supported by the North East Production Fund, will be released in UK and Irish cinemas on June 19 (but there will be a special Q&A screening at the Tyneside Cinema on June 15 - more information at the end).
Directed by North East filmmaker Tina Gharavi, the film boasts an impressive cast including Haley Bennett, Elyas M’Barek, Lily Allen, Jack Whitehall, Sally Phillips, Jennifer Saunders and Timothy Spall.
Based on Virginia Woolf’s novel of the same name, the film follows passionate astronomer Katharine Hilbery, played by Bennett, as she attempts to avoid romantic love and marriage while navigating a rapidly changing Edwardian world.
While set against the backdrop of London and Cambridge in 1910, parts of the production were filmed in the North East, with regional locations doubling for the capital.
Among the locations used were Beamish Museum, Newcastle’s Common Room and the Lit & Phil, showcasing the region’s growing reputation as a destination for film and television production.
Gayle Woodruffe, operations director at North East Screen, said: “We’re proud of our world class filming locations and it’s great to see such phenomenal talent working here led by North East Director Tina Gharavi alongside a number of local crew.”
The North East Production Fund, delivered by North East Screen on behalf of the North East Screen Industries Partnership, has generated £65 million in gross value added for the regional economy over the past three years.
Tina Gharavi, writer-producer Justine Waddell and producers Chris Figg and Meg Thomson will take part in a special Q&A screening of the film at Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema on June 15. More information and tickets here.