Ralph Fiennes’ Hit Stage Production ‘Four Quartets’ Is Getting A Screen Version, WestEnd Handling Sales At Cannes Market

Andreas Wiseman
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner Ralph Fiennes’ hit London stage production Four Quartets is getting a screen version directed by his sister Sophie Fiennes (The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema).

WestEnd Films is launching international sales on the project at the upcoming Cannes market.

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Early in the pandemic, No Time to Die, Harry Potter and Schindler’s List star Fiennes set himself the challenge of committing T.S. Eliot’s classic poem Four Quartets to memory. The result was an acclaimed stage version which ran to packed houses across England and at the Harold Pinter Theater in London.

Written by Eliot in the shadow of the Second World War, the ever-relevant poem is a searching examination of who – and what – we are.

The idea for the film, which is currently in post, was developed alongside the rehearsals for the stage production. Martin Rosenbaum (The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology), Shani Hinton (Grace Jones: Bloodlight And Bami) and PK Fellowes (The Bike Thief) are producing.

Crew members include DoP Mike Eley (The Duke), production designer Hildegard Bechtler (National Theatre Live: Antony & Cleopatra), lighting designer Tim Lutkin (National Theatre Live: Les Blancs) and sound designer Chris Shutt (Royal Shakespeare Company: Macbeth).

Director Sophie Fiennes said: “Critical to the film’s cinematic conception is the compelling world of Four Quartets, vividly conjured through Ralph’s incisive performance and stage direction. Shot entirely on 16 mm, as a film of a performance of a poem, the film embraces these three creative forms simultaneously. It is a mesmerising journey into the imagination, bound by experience, memory and time.”

Maya Amsellem, Managing Director of WestEnd Films added: “We are thrilled to work with Sophie Fiennes once again following our successful collaboration on Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami. Four Quartets is such a special film which will allow spectators a rare and intimate experience with Ralph Fiennes – one of the very best British actors. We can’t wait to introduce this truly unique project to our distributors.”

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