Olivia Colman and John Lithgow will star as different generations of a family that must navigate a new scenario in Sophie Hyde’s Jimpa, which has begun filming in Amsterdam ahead of shoots in Adelaide and Helsinki.
Colman plays Hannah, a mother who takes her trans non-binary 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.
Australians Daniel Henshall, Kate Box, Eamon Farren, Cody Fern, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, and Deborah Kennedy are joined in the supporting cast by Hans Kesting, Zoë Love Smith, Romana Vrede, Jean Janssens, and Frank Sanders.
Shooting on the film has entered its third week, with Protagonist Pictures to launch international sales in Cannes, and CAA Media Finance, which helped arrange financing for the film, repping North American rights.
Hyde, who wrote the film alongside Matthew Cormack, is also producing alongside Liam Heyen, Marleen Slot, Bryan Mason, and co-producer Cyna Strachan, with Mason-Hyde, Sue Maslin, Troy Lum, Ester Harding, and Michael Agar executive producing.
The collaboration between Closer Films, Mad Ones Films, and Viking Film has received major production investment from Screen Australia and Align, with the support of the Netherlands Film Fund and the Netherlands Film Production Incentive. There was also financial support from The Finnish Impact Film Fund, Aurora Studios, Cinéart, South Australian Film Corporation, Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund, and Mind The Gap Film Finance, as well as further support from Kojo. Kismet will distribute the film in Australia and New Zealand, with Cinéart distributing in the Benelux region.
The creative team includes DOP Matthew Chuang, production designer Bethany Ryan, editor Bryan Mason, costume designer Renate Henschke, and hair and makeup designer Jen Rossiter. Casting is by Nikki Barrett CGA of Barrett Casting, with Dutch casting by Susanne Groen of Groen Casting.
The writer/director said she felt privileged to be working with so many collaborators she knew and trusted while creating “wonderful new relationships with a superb cast and crew”.
“This story is a very personal one, and making it is filled with some sadness and a lot of joy,” she said
“I’m particularly treasuring that I get to work with my child Aud in their feature film debut. The stories we tell help us work out who we want to be, and this one is filled with warmth, humour, love, and joy. I’m delighted to be making it.”
Protagonist Pictures CEO Dave Bishop said Hyde was well placed to continue the momentum from her 2022 romantic comedy Good Luck To You Leo Grande.
“Time and time again we see when a special filmmaker with a unique vision crafts a film that can truly breakthrough and connect with audiences, just like Sophie achieved with Good Luck To You Leo Grande,” he said.
“Having Olivia and John rounding out such a talented cast, we know she will do the same with JIMPA”.
Heyen said it was an “immense privilege” to work with Hyde 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,” he said.
“Matt and Sophie have crafted such a script with charming, complex characters and I can’t wait for audiences around the world to meet them.”
Align executive chairman and co-founder Adrian Politowski, a producer on Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, said he was pleased to have another opportunity to collaborate with Hyde.
“Our continued partnership with Sophie further emboldens our belief here at Align that finding strong partners with important stories to tell is so paramount to enticing audiences around the world,” he said.