BAFTA Award Winner Esther May Campbell’s Light Years, Starring Beth Orton Coming To UK Cinemas September 24

“An intimate, opalescent debut feature from British writer-director Esther May Campbell” - Variety

LIGHT YEARS WILL BE RELEASED IN UK CINEMAS FROM 24 SEPTEMBER OWN LIGHT YEARS ON DVD FROM 28 NOVEMBER

BAFTA award winning film maker Esther May Campbell's, "enticingly sensuous, heat-hazed" drama, LIGHT YEARS, featuring singer and songwriter Beth Orton and  will be released in key UK cinemas from 24 September.

Following a successful 'Audience First' campaign run with Crowdfunder in July which gave audiences the opportunity to pre-purchase tickets and other exclusive perks, independent producers Third Films will self distribute the film at cinemas and festivals across the country with the first bookings including Bristol, Newcastle, Manchester, London, Sheffield, Clevedon, Exeter, Cardiff and Norwich. A number of  screenings will also include film-maker Q+As and LIGHT YEARS will be released on DVD from 28 November.

Confirmed LIGHT YEARS screenings include:

Saturday 24 September - Bristol, Watershed including Q+A (Details)
26, 27, 28 & 29 September - Bristol, Watershed
Tuesday 27 September - Newcastle, Tyneside Cinema including Q+A (Details)
Thursday 29 September - London, Regent St Cinema including Q+A (Details)

Tuesday 4 October - Manchester, Home including Q+A  (Details)
Sunday 9 October - Bristol Radical Festival, The Old Malt House
Thursday 13 October - Clevedon, Curzon including Q+A (Details)
Tuesday 25 October - Stockton, Art Centre including Q+A

Monday 7 November - Sheffield, Showroom Workstation including Q+A
Thursday 10 November - Matlock, Northern Light Cinema
Sunday 13 November - Norwich Film Festival, The Forum including Q+A
Tuesday 15 November - Exeter, Phoenix Cinema
Monday 28 November - Cardiff, Chapter Arts including Q+A

Further bookings to be announced.

A poetic and startling story of loss, hope and the deepest of human connections, LIGHT YEARS was filmed in Bristol and marks the feature acting debut of singer/ songwriter Orton, currently touring the UK on the back of the release of her most acclaimed album Kidsticks.

One hot summer’s day Rose (newcomer Zamira Fuller), longs to see her mum (Orton) but nobody will take her.  Her father (Muhammet Uzuner), struggling to cope, disappears to work, her sister (Sophie Burton) waits to meet a boy on the local golf course and her brother (James Stuckey) is preoccupied at home communing with spirits online.

Taking destiny into her own hands she sets off alone deep into England’s forgotten edge lands to reach her.  Rose’s odyssey provokes her disconnected, fractured siblings and parents into a poignant reunion to face their challenges together.

Written and directed by Campbell, who won a Best Short Film BAFTA Award in 2009 for SEPTEMBER, LIGHT YEARS also features an original soundtrack by Canadian musician Eric Chenaux.

LIGHT YEARS was supported with both development and production funding by the BFI and Creative England.  Finite Films and Third Films also contributed production funding into the film and The Match Factory are handling international sales.  LIGHT YEARS received it's world premiere at the Venice International Festival in 2015 and its UK premiere was at the London Film Festival where it was the only UK film to be nominated for the Sutherland award.

“We’re reaching out to film lovers and audiences to get involved in the release of LIGHT YEARS in the UK,” said Producer of LIGHT YEARS Samm Haillay. “With your support we will be able to bring LIGHT YEARS to your local cinema and be there ourselves for film-maker Q+As.  Our Crowdfunder campaign is an exciting and unique opportunity be involved in raising the profile of this very independent and beautiful British film.”

Ben Roberts, Director of Lottery Film Fund at the BFI said, "For those who like to discover and support new voices and talent in film, LIGHT YEARS is a dream.  We have loved working with Esther and her team on the road to making her debut feature - and it's so fitting that the UK release is giving audiences the opportunity to join the journey now through their Crowdfunder campaign."

Creative England’s Senior Executive, Development and Production Paul Ashton said: “It is no longer enough for a film to be distinctive, beautiful or even from an award-winning filmmaker. Film’s need to find their audience in a complex, fast-changing and crowded marketplace. And they need to use innovative ways of reaching and engaging that audience. Creative England is delighted to support LIGHT YEARS further through the pilot FilmCrowd partnership. We hope a film like this can truly connect with its audience in the big screen experience for which it was always imagined.”

#LightYearsFilm

Keep up-to-date with Light Years at the Official Website, Facebook and Twitter: @ThirdFilms

LIGHT YEARS WILL BE RELEASED IN UK CINEMAS FROM 24 SEPTEMBER OWN LIGHT YEARS ON DVD FROM 28 NOVEMBER