Scripted

Beta Cinema is kicking off pre-sales at the upcoming Berlin International Film Festival on the big screen adaptation of The Offing, the bestselling novel by Benjamin Myers. Emmy Award-winner Jessica Hobbs (The Crown) will direct and Helena Bonham Carter will star in the leading role and serve as Executive Producer on this poignant tale of an unlikely friendship.

North-East England. Post-War. The Offing opens on Robert, 16, the shy, nature-loving son of a miner who sets out to see a little more of the world before he follows his father down the pit. He gets as far as Dulcie (Bonham Carter), a hard drinking, foul-mouthed, bohemian recluse several times his age. Under her eccentric tutelage, his life opens up to food, girls, and the transformative beauty of poetry as Dulcie recognises a potential in Robert that he doesn’t yet see in himself. But while Dulcie’s cottage and garden by the sea are idyllic, this place holds a tragic secret about Dulcie’s great love. When Robert discovers the truth, his brave and tender friendship compels Dulcie to open her own heart and re-engage with the world. Their encounter is a riotous clash of experience, personality and perspective which will leave them both forever changed.

The Offing is based on the international bestseller of the same name by Walter Scott Prize-winner Benjamin Myers. The period drama was published in all major international territories and the Guardian called it: “an unexpectedly touching story of a friendship that conquers the barriers of age, class and gender.”

The Offing is produced by Charlotte Walls and Emily Barttelot at independent producer Catalyst Global Media (Finding Your Feet, Ghost Stories), who developed the film with support from Beta Cinema. Seasoned writer Amy Roberts (The Winter King, Call The Midwife, Shameless)  is adapting the screenplay. Shooting is lined up for later this year.