Music Box Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Richie Adams’ “The Road Dance,” the Scottish adaptation of John McKay’s 2002 bestselling novel.
In the film, Kirsty MacLeod (Hermione Corfield) dreams of a better life away from the isolation that suffocates her in a small village on an island in the Outer Scottish Hebrides. Suppressing these aspirations, she sees her lover Murdo (Will Fletcher) conscripted for service in WWI, soon to set off and fight alongside the other young men from the village. A road dance is held in their honor the evening before they depart, and it’s on this fateful evening that Kirsty’s life takes a dramatic and tragic turn.
The film premiered at the 2021 Edinburgh International Film Festival, where it won the audience award for best film, followed by the jury prize for best feature at the Manchester International Film Festival. It has since played the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Heartland Film Festival, and other U.S. festivals, including the Sedona International Film Festival, where it won the audience choice award for best feature drama.
The sale of the film was negotiated by Brian Andreotti of Music Box Films and Andrew Brown of Parkland Pictures on behalf of the filmmakers.
Andreotti said: “’The Road Dance’ is the kind of sweeping romance that isn’t made much these days: an intimate, classical, character-driven film where the biggest special effects are the spectacular landscapes of Scotland, captured by Petra Korner’s exquisite cinematography. Richie Adams’s delicate direction and his enormously talented cast are sure to affect audiences in the U.S.”
Adams added: “I’ve always been a fan of period films and stories of simpler times when a community rallied around itself just to survive, as in this story set against war-torn Scotland in 1916. And what intrigued me most about John McKay’s book was the power of the human spirit in the character of Kirsty Macleod who is confronted by the unthinkable, the part played brilliantly by Hermione Corfield.”
Producer Steven Shapiro said: “It’s a tough story, handled deftly by Richie, and we were so fortunate to have Hermione’s captivating performance complimented by the work of veterans Mark Gatiss and Morven Christie, and newcomers Will Fletcher and Ali Fumiko Whitney. We are so excited for U.S. audiences to see it via Music Box.”
Andrew Brown, head of sales for Parkland Pictures, added: “Shot in the isolated splendour of the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, ‘The Road Dance’ is a beautifully composed film about the simple lives of small island inhabitants and in particular Kirtsy who has a secret to hide or face ruin. The juxtaposition of that and the visceral war scenes in the film immerse the viewer into a fractured world of stunning landscapes, visceral imagery, and provocative storytelling about the struggles of women back in time. Richie Adams has proved himself a genuine talent with the film’s major wins at various film festivals and Parkland are thrilled to be working with the fantastic team at Music Box.”
Music Box Films plans to release the film later this year.
