God's Own Country (2017 film)

God's Own Country

British release poster
Directed by Francis Lee
Produced by
  • Manon Ardisson
  • Anna Duffield
  • Diarmid Scrimshaw
  • Jack Tarling
Written by Francis Lee
Starring
Cinematography Joshua James Richards
Edited by Chris Wyatt
Production
companies
  • Inflammable Films
  • Magic Bear Productions
  • Shudder Films
Distributed by Picturehouse Entertainment
Release date
  • 23 January 2017 (2017-01-23) (Sundance)
  • 1 September 2017 (2017-09-01) (United Kingdom)
Running time
 105 minutes[1]
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget £1 million[2]

God's Own Country is a 2017 British drama film about Johnny Saxby, a sheep farmer in Yorkshire whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of a migrant worker. The film was the only UK-based production to feature in the world drama category at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

Premise

The film focuses on Johnny Saxby (O'Connor), a young Yorkshire sheep farmer who is emotionally shut off through drink and the necessity to keep his family's farm going after his father is partly paralysed with a stroke and his grandmother is too old to work.[3] When lambing season comes around, his father and grandmother organize help in the form of Romanian migrant worker Gheorghe Ionescu (Secareanu).[2]

Gheorghe's arrival makes Johnny confront his feelings of love and being loved for the first time. It also forces him into a self-enforced ultimatum about his future.[4]

Cast

Production

The film is partly based on writer and director Lee's own life, where he also had to make a decision to either stay and work on his family's farm, or whether to go off to drama school.[6]

The film was shot in Yorkshire, specifically around the Laycock area of Keighley in West Yorkshire,[3] with some other scenes being shot in Keighley Bus Station.[7] Francis Lee actually filmed the lambing scenes on his father's farm in the area[2] with Haworth and Otley also featuring as backdrops for the film.[7]

The production was part financed through the British Film Council's iFeature programme with additional funding being secured from Creative England.[4]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 23 January 2017. It was the only production from the United Kingdom that featured in the world drama category in the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.[8][2] It went onto screen at the Berlin International Film Festival on 11 February 2017.[9][10]

Shortly after, Picturehouse Entertainment, Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired U.K. and U.S. distribution rights respectively.[11][12] It is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom on 1 September 2017.[13]

Reception

God's Own Country received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 92% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 12 reviews, with a weighted average of 8.3/10.[14] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 81 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[15]

The Sundance Film Festival's listing for God's Own Country says that "you can smell the mud in this movie" while also describing Francis Lee as a major new talent and the film as "one not to be missed."[1] Peter Bradshaw, writing in The Guardian, gave the film four stars out of five. Bradshaw described the film as "an almost, but not quite a Dales Brokeback," and also as a "very British love story, bursting at the seams with unspoken emotions, unvoiced fears about the future, and a readiness to displace every emotion into hard physical work".[16]

At the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival the film received the Harvey Award, presented by the Teddy Awards program for LGBT-related films in conjunction with a reader jury from the German LGBT magazine Männer.[17]

Awards and nominations

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients and nominees Result Ref(s)
Berlin International Film Festival 18 February 2017 Männer reader jury award Francis Lee Won [17]
Teddy Award Francis Lee Nominated
Sundance Film Festival 28 January 2017 World Cinema Directing Award: Dramatic Francis Lee Won [18]
Grand Jury Prize - US Documentary Francis Lee Nominated
Frameline41 International LGBT Film Festival 25 June 2017 AT&T Audience Award - Best Feature Francis Lee Won [19]
Edinburgh International Film Festival 30 June 2017 Best British Feature Francis Lee Won [20]

References

  1. 1 2 "God's Own Country". www.sundance.org. Sundance Institute. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Sherwin, Adam (1 December 2016). "Sundance Film Festival to premiere Yorkshire sheep farming movie". iNews. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  3. 1 2 Rahman, Miran (9 August 2014). "Planned feature film could receive key funding support". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  4. 1 2 "British Council Film: God's Own Country". film.britishcouncil.org. British Film Council. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "God's Own Country full cast and crew". imdb.com. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  6. ↑ Rosser, Michael. "'God's Own Country' cast revealed as shoot begins". screendaily.com. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  7. 1 2 Knights, David (29 April 2016). "New movie God's Own Country filmed at Keighley bus station". Keighley News. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  8. ↑ "Shudder Films’ First Completed Feature Selected for Premiere at Sundance ‹ News and Opportunities ‹ Homepage". NFM. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  9. ↑ "God's Own Country". Berlin International Film Festival. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  10. ↑ Lodderhose, Diana (6 February 2017). "Berlin Rounds Out Panorama Lineup, Adds ‘Call Me By Your Name’ & ‘God’s Own Country’". Deadline.com. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  11. ↑ Grater, Tom (6 February 2017). "Picturehouse takes Sundance hit 'God's Own Country' for UK". Screen International. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  12. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (8 May 2017). "Orion Pictures, Samuel Goldwyn Films Land ‘God’s Own Country’ For U.S.". Deadline.com. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  13. ↑ Mitchell, Robert (9 May 2017). "‘God’s Own Country,’ Gay Love Story That Premiered at Sundance, to Open Edinburgh Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  14. ↑ "God's Own Country". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  15. ↑ "God's Own Country". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  16. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (22 January 2017). "God's Own Country review – Dales answer to Brokeback that's a very British love story". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  17. 1 2 "Berlin: Sebastian Lelio's 'A Fantastic Woman' Wins Teddy Award for Best Film". The Hollywood Reporter, February 18, 2017.
  18. ↑ Debruge, Peter (January 28, 2017). "Sundance: ‘I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore,’ ‘Dina’ Top Festival Awards". Variety. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Frameline41 Awards Announced". www.frameline.org. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  20. ↑ "God's Own Country wins Edinburgh Film Festival award". BBC News. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
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