UK actor Tim Roth has joined John Maclean’s survival thriller Tornado as principal photography gets underway in Scotland, with HanWay Films on board for sales.
Roth, whose credits include Pulp Fiction and TV series Tin Star, joins the previously announced cast of Slow Horses‘ Jack Lowden, Giri/Haji’s Takehiro Hira and Koki, who will also appear in Baltasar Kormakur’s upcoming feature Touch.
Tornado has pre-sold in a raft of territories, including Lionsgate UK which has picked up UK and Ireland rights, The Jokers in France, ZDF in Germany and Austria, September Films in Benelux, M2 in Central Europe, MCF in former Yugoslavia, NOS Audiovisuals in Portugal, The Film Group in Greece, Front Row in the Middle East, Shaw in Singapore and Cinesky for ships and airlines.
Sales will continue at the upcoming European Film Market (EFM).
The film is the second from Scotland-based Maclean following the Sundance grand jury prize-winning Slow West in 2015. Maclean was named a 2011 Screen Star of Tomorrow and also directed music videos. He was a former member of The Beta Band. The thriller is set against the rugged landscapes of 1790s Britain. Koki plays Tornado, a young, determined Japanese woman who is caught in a dangerous situation when her father’s travelling Samurai puppet show crosses paths with an ruthless gang. The gang, led by Sugarman (Roth) and his ambitious son Little Sugar (Lowden), is led by Roth. Tornado, whose father is killed by the gang in order to avenge his death, fights for her own survival. It is funded by Ashland Hill Media Finance. The producers are Leonora, James and Mark Lane of leading UK genre outfit Tea Shop Productions. Robbie Ryan, who has been nominated for a Bafta for his work on Poor Things
, is the director of photography. Robbie Ryan, who has been nominated for a Bafta for cinematography for his work on
Poor Things, is the director of photography.Executive producers include Ashland Hill’s Joe Simpson, Simon Williams, Andy Wang and Matthew Chausse.
The film was developed with the support of the BFI, and received production funding from Screen Scotland, both awarding National Lottery funding.
“It is exciting to start the year with a film going into production in the UK,” said Gabrielle Stewart, CEO of HanWay Films. “It is exciting to start the year with a film going into production in the UK,” said Gabrielle Stewart, CEO of HanWay Films.
