Emotional drama Nowhere Special to hit silver screens

A beautifully-heartfelt drama, which tells the tale of a dying 35-year-old window cleaner whose wish is to find a new, perfect family for his three-year-old son, will be touring Tyrone in December.

Filmed and set in the North, ‘Nowhere Special’ will hit the silver screens of Dungannon Film Club on December 2, and it will come to the Subterranean Community Cinena, Omagh, on Friday, December 3.

Directed by award-winning Italian filmmaker, Uberto Pasolini, it stars James Norton as a single Belfast father, and introduced Daniel Lamont from Ballymena as Michael, his son. Now aged seven, Daniel has been nominated for a prestigious British Independent Film Award (BIFA) for his breakthrough performance.

Mr Pasolini said that filming Nowhere Special in the North was one of the highlights of his 35 years of filmmaking.

“The quality of the crew, the brilliance of the Northern Irish actors, the welcome we received everywhere during our shoot, and of course the amazing talents of Daniel and James enabled us to achieve what on paper appeared impossible: An honest, yet moving, portrait of a very special relationship,” Uberto described.

“It is a love story between a young father and his very small boy growing through the most difficult circumstances. It is with great pride that we share our journey with your audiences.”

Special tour

The special 11-stop tour of Nowhere Special, a Belfast-based production, is being organised by Film Hub NI (FHNI) as part of its collective programme which aims to bring local films to local places.

Sara Gunn-Smith, marketing and audiences officer for FHNI, said that the network was ‘delighted’ to be able to bring this original and beautiful film to 11 community cinemas across the North for audiences to enjoy.

“With so many brilliant community cinemas signed up for the tour, it is evident that the appetite for independent film is alive and well and that film lovers cannot wait to return to the cinema,” she said. “Audiences can look forward to seeing the film, along with some special guests that will join us on a few dates.”

Chris Martin, co-producer of Nowhere Special, said that he was ‘delighted’ that FHNI has chosen Nowhere Special as the next title to tour as part of the Collective initiative.

“This means that audiences across he North will have another chance to enjoy this special film on a cinema screen in so many places – from Newcastle to Derry/Londonderry and all those in between,” he said.

“Having impressed audiences across the world, it is an honour to bring Nowhere Special back to be screened in the place that it was made.”

FHNI is part of the BFI Film Audience Network, a UK-wide project to ensure that the greatest choice of film is available to diverse audiences across the North. The initiative is supported through National Lottery funding, distributed by the British Film Institute.

Nowhere Special was filmed with support from Northern Ireland Screen.

l ‘Nowhere Special’ will be screened at Dungannon Film Club on December 2, and it will come to the Subterranean Community Cinena, Omagh, on Friday, December 3. For a full list of tour dates and venues, please visit: ‘www.filmhubni.org’.