Principal photography has wrapped on Black Church Bay, the debut feature from writer/director Rhys Marc Jones starring Tom Cullen (The Gold, Trespasses, Weekend) and Joe Locke (Emmy-nominated for Heartstopper, Agatha All Along).
Black Church Bay is a mystery-thriller, about a man whose world unravels after an intimate encounter with a younger man, exploring the lengths someone will go to in order to hide their true self.
The film is produced by Alex Polunin for Ossian International and Tristan Goligher for The Bureau. The cast includes Marli Siu (Everything I Know About Love) and Rakie Ayola (Kaos).
Black Church Bay was developed with BBC Film. Production financiers are BBC Film (Claudia Yusef and Alice Ojha), Ffilm Cymru Wales awarding National Lottery Funding (Kiah Simpson and Kimberley Warner), Screen Scotland (Leslie Finlay), with further finance from Manzini Films, Black Heron, Elephant Music, Kamila Serkebaeva and Daniel Staut.
Shooting took place on location in Anglesey, North Wales. The Bureau Sales are handling international rights.
Writer/director Rhys Marc Jones received his MFA in writing and directing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts as a three-time BAFTA Scholarship recipient. He developed Black Church Bay with BBC Film, following support from the iFeatures scheme and the Festival de Cannes Cinéfondation Résidence.
His screenplay for Black Church Bay won the Black Family Feature Prize, the highest honour bestowed by the faculty at the NYU Film Department - and his short films have played festivals worldwide, receiving various honours including two BAFTA Cymru nominations.
Father of the Bride was selected in competition at SXSW and was broadcast on BBC in 2023, having already streamed on Amazon Prime Video in the US. Rhys received BFI Flare x BAFTA Crew Mentorship from Wash Westmoreland, a scheme that rewards and supports filmmakers advancing LGBTQ+ representation, and he is an alumni of Berlinale Talents ‘21.
Writer/director Rhys Marc Jones said: “Black Church Bay has been a dream made real by the cumulative efforts of a dedicated cast and crew. I'm immensely grateful to my longtime creative partners, cinematographer Lasse Ulvedal Tolbøll and designer Paix Robinson as well as all the new relationships fostered over the last few months that helped me realise this ambitious script. We're excited to show audiences the exquisite Isle of Anglesey in a way it's never been seen before.”
Producers Alex Polunin and Tristan Goligher added: “We could not be more grateful for the support of all the investors in making this film possible, in what is a challenging time for the industry. It is only with that backing that we’ve been able to bring Rhys’ unique and ambitious vision to reality.”
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Image credits
Tom Cullen Headshot Credit Pip; Joe Locke Headshot Credit: Ruth Crafer.
Ossian International
Founded by Alex Polunin, Ossian International is one of the UK's leading new international film & television production companies.
Headquartered in Scotland, Ossian International is home to a new generation of filmmaking talent looking to offer different perspectives on the future of British cinema.
Having produced some of the UK's most urgent and iconic short films of the last decade - from Sean Robert Dunn's British by the Grace of God (Locarno) and Kingdom Come (Venice) to Olive Nwosu's Egungun (Masquerade) (Sundance) and Rhys Marc Jones' Father of the Bride (SXSW) - its upcoming feature releases include: Sean Robert Dunn's The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford (BBC Film), Rafael Manuel's Filipiñana (Film4), Olive Nwosu's Lady (Film4), Rhys Marc Jones' Black Church Bay (BBC Film) and Oscar-nominated US indie studio Big Beach's latest title Borges & Me.
The Bureau
The Bureau, an established, BAFTA-winning production company, collaborates with some of the UK’s most distinctive filmmakers, including Asif Kapadia, Harry Wootliff, Aleem Khan, and Andrew Haigh.
Recent films include THE STRAYS with Netflix, which launched at number one on the platform in the UK and spent its opening weeks in the top ten in 89 territories; SUPERNOVA starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci; Aleem Khan’s AFTER LOVE, for which Joanna Scanlan won a BAFTA for Best Actress; and Harry Wootliff’s TRUE THINGS starring Ruth Wilson and Tom Burke. The Bureau previously produced Andrew Haigh’s 45 YEARS, for which Charlotte Rampling was Oscar-nominated.