Acclaimed stars Olivia Colman and John Lithgow have joined the cast of the upcoming LGBT+ drama “Jimpa.” The film marks the reunion of Colman and Lithgow, who previously worked together in the 2016 historical drama television series “The Crown.” The film, which is now in its third week of production in Amsterdam, will be shopped at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.
“Jimpa” is set to be directed by Sophie Hyde, whose most recent film was the breakout “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.” The film’s producers include Liam Heyen, Marleen Slot, Sophie Hyde, and Bryan Mason, along with co-producer Cyna Strachan. Additionally, the executive producers of the film include Sue Maslin, Aud Mason-Hyde, Troy Lum, Ester Harding, and Michael Agar.
Apart from Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman and Golden Globe winner Lithgow, the film features an ensemble cast including Daniel Henshall (The Royal Hotel), Kate Box (Erotic Stories), Eamon Farren (The Witcher), Cody Fern (American Horror Story), Tilda Cobham-Hervey (I Am Woman), Deborah Kennedy (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), Hans Kesting (Nr. 10), Zoë Love Smith (Skam NL), Romana Vrede (I Don’t Wanna Dance), Jean Janssens (Campus 12) and Frank Sanders (The Rozettes musical). Moreover, Hyde’s child, Aud Mason-Hyde, will also be making their feature acting debut as the film’s co-lead.
What can be expected from the upcoming LGBT+ drama?
With such a star power attached to it, the upcoming film Jimpa is shaping up to be highly anticipated by moviegoers. What adds a layer to it is the fact that filmmaker Sophie Hyde, who has also the screenplay with Matthew Cormack, is attached to the project.
The synopsis provided by the producers of the film reads: “Hannah (Colman) takes her trans nonbinary teenager Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde) to Amsterdam to visit their gay grandfather ‘Jimpa’ (Lithgow). But Frances’ desire to stay with Jimpa for a year abroad means Hannah is forced to reconsider her beliefs about parenting and finally confront old stories about the past.”
Sharing her insight on the film’s premise, Hyde said, “This story is a very personal one, and making it is filled with some sadness and a lot of joy. I’m particularly thrilled that I get to work with my child Aud in their feature film debut. The stories we tell help us figure out who we want to be, and this one is filled with warmth, humor, love, and joy.”
The film has already been locked in Cineart as a distributor in the Benelux region, as well as Kismet and The Unquiet Collective for Australia and New Zealand. Also, the rights to the film are being handled by Protagonist Pictures in much of the world and by CAA Media Finance in North America. The CEO of Protagonist Pictures, Dave Bishop, said in a statement, “Time and time again, we see when a special filmmaker with unique vision crafts a film that can truly breakthrough and connect with audiences, just like Sophie achieved with ‘Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.’ Having Olivia and John rounding out such a talented cast, we know she will do the same with ‘Jimpa.’”
Jimpa’s producer, Liam Heyen, praised Hyde’s directorial vision: “For a long time, I have admired Sophie’s directorial ability to tell intimate stories with scale and audience appeal, so it’s an immense privilege to be working alongside her to bring ‘Jimpa’ to life. I strive to produce work that portrays members of the LBGTQI+ community as real, flawed, and worthy people and explore the contradiction that our lives have both everything and nothing to do with our gender identity or sexuality.”
“Jimpa” is currently filming in Amsterdam, and no release date has yet been set.
