A film I’m only learning about today, the Edinburgh Film Festival, Scotland’s largest film festival, has announced that it will close this year’s event with the world premiere of "Iona," a drama directed by Scott Graham, starring Ruth Negga in what is described as "part coming-of-age story and part returning-home drama" and follows the titular character (Negga) as she returns to her birthplace namesake with her son to seek refuge from a violent crime in Glasgow.
Shot entirely on location in Scotland, "Iona" also stars Tom Brooke, Michelle Duncan and newcomers Ben Gallagher and Sorcha Groundsell.
Mark Adams, the new artistic director of EIFF added: "We are thrilled to be closing this year’s Festival with Scott Graham’s lovely, moving and enthralling Iona. He is a striking cinematic talent and the film will wrap this year’s Festival in the perfect way."
Iona is produced by Margaret Matheson and co-produced by Gunter Hanfgarn.
The film is executive produced by Christopher Collins, Lizzie Francke, Ian Davies and Rebecca Long and is set for release in the UK later this year.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) will open its 69th edition on June 17.
Ruth Negga, the "Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." actress, recently booked a co-starring role opposite Joel Edgerton, in a scripted adaptation of "The Loving Story," playing the real-life interracial couple living in the state of Virginia where interracial coupling was illegal, and the landmark civil rights case in which the United States Supreme Court, which declared Virginia’s anti-miscegenation statute, unconstitutional. Negga also landed the female lead in AMC’s "Preacher" – an adaptation of the comic book series about a maverick clergyman in Texas. Upcoming, she’s in the big screen adaptation of the immensely popular video game "Warcraft," which is currently being directed by Duncan Jones, and is set for a 206 release.
