Mickey Rourke Joins Cast Of ‘The Wheels Of Heaven’, Produced By & Co-Starring Dessy Tenekedjieva

Production is wrapping up on The Wheels of Heaven, a dramatic thriller starring Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), produced by Dessy Tenekedjieva’s Bulgarian-based Black Sea Film and co-produced by UK’s Goldfinch, an independent production house and financier.

The film, directed by Ben Charles Edwards (Quant) from a screenplay by Mike Shilliam, also stars Gary Stretch (Dead Man’s Shoes), Dessy Tenekedjieva (The Profession of Arms), Geoff Bell (RocknRolla) as well as Eleonora Ivanova and Dimitar Nikolov, featuring Lee Ryan (The Heavy), Nicky Whelan (Hall Pass) and Sadie Frost (Quant). Shilliam wrote the screenplay from a story by Edwards and Tenekedjieva. Dennis Madden (Home Alone TV series) serves as DP.

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Principal photography took place in Bulgaria this past summer, followed by additional filming in Los Angeles and London. Post-production is currently underway in the UK.

In The Wheels of Heaven, a troubled young girl, Iva (Ivanova), meets a charming older boy (Nikolov) who gives her the strength to stand up and find her own path in life. But is the boy, as he claims, the fallen angel Lucifer sent to guide Iva in her destiny to save the human race? Or is he a delusional and dangerous young man?

“The Wheels of Heaven is a tense thriller and at times a touching coming-of-age story; a love letter to the Devil,” said Edwards. “I wanted to pay heed to the ultimate fictional text of Mark Twain’s The Mysterious Stranger, with both pieces examining the ambiguity of ‘good’ and ‘evil’, and exploring how these concepts relate to life as it’s actually lived and the delicate balance between them. To quote the movie, ‘there is darkness in the most virtuous and light in the corrupt’.”

Tenekedjieva of Black Sea Film and Nova Film produces. Kirsty Bell (Ronnie’s) co-produces for Goldfinch’s genre label The Number 44. Stretch, Phil McKenzie, Edwards, Neli Beshirova, Kimberly Hines and Ian Stack executive produce.

“Accessing locations not only in my native Bulgaria but also in Los Angeles and London will truly bring this story to a global audience,” Tenekedjieva said. “Our talented actor and executive producer Gary Stretch and the cult British actor Geoff Bell delivered a powerhouse performance, and having the legendary Mickey Rourke as such a central figure to the story is a dream come true.”

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