England Is Mine will close the 71st edition of the Festival on Sunday 2nd July, 2017 at Festival Theatre, Edinburgh. Culminating in his first meeting with Johnny Marr, England Is Mine, is a feature length biopic based on the early life of Morrissey, the outspoken former lead singer of seminal British band The Smiths. The film is directed by Academy Award® and BAFTA Award nominee Mark Gill (The Voorman Problem) and produced by Baldwin Li (The Voorman Problem) and Orian Williams (Control).
The film takes audiences back to 1970s Manchester, where Steven Morrissey (Jack Lowden – Dunkirk, A United Kingdom, ’71), an introverted, uncompromising teenager, finds himself frustrated with his working-class existence.
With dreams of a successful music career being dampened by his run-of-the-mill job at the local tax office, Steven finds solace in the city’s underground gig scene where he meets Linder Sterling (Jessica Brown Findlay – Downton Abbey, The Riot Club) – an intelligent, self-assured artist – who encourages him to make his ideas of superstardom a reality.
EIFF Artistic Director Mark Adams said: “Morrissey is one of Britain’s most iconic artists, and this delve into his formative years is a witty and enthralling look at a great music talent. The world premiere of England Is Mine will be a perfect way to wrap this year’s Festival.”
Tickets will go on sale at 10 am on Friday 12 May through the EIFF website. For more information visit www.edfilmfest.org.uk.
The 71st edition of EIFF runs from 21 June – 2 July, 2017.
