Ilan Eshkeri has composed the score for the upcoming film ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’, which opens in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on April 28th. Based on the bestselling book of the same name by the award-winning author Rachel Joyce, who also wrote the screenplay, the film was directed by the BAFTA winner Hettie Macdonald ( ‘Howards End’, ‘Normal People’) and produced by Juliet Dowling, Kevin Loader and Marilyn Milgrom. The book was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, won the UK National Book Award for the New Writer of the Year and was the UK’s bestselling book from a new novelist in 2021. It has sold over 6 million copies worldwide. Starring the Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent as Harold and Penelope Wilton as his wife Maureen, ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ is an uplifting tale of self-discovery, redemption and learning to seize the moment. The film tells the story of a man who leaves his seaside town in Devon to deliver a message to an old friend. Harold Fry was never meant to be a hero. He’s an unremarkable man who has failed at all the important things: being a husband, a father and a friend. Now, well into his 60s, he is content to fade quietly into the background of life. But when Harold learns his friend Queenie is dying, he is moved to act. He leaves home, walking to the post box to send her a letter, until he realises a letter is not enough. In that moment Harold decides to keep walking, all the way to her hospice, some 500 miles away in Berwick-upon-Tweed: as long as he walks, Queenie must live. Surprising himself as much as his wife Maureen, Harold embarks on a walk of hope, determined to travel the length of England to save his friend. The film is an Essential Cinema/Free Range Films production, financed by Ingenious Media and the BFI (awarding National Lottery funding) in association with Embankment Films. Produced by Juliet Dowling, Kevin Loader and Marilyn Milgrom, the script was developed with Film4 and the BFI. Executive Producers are Rachel Joyce and Paul Venables; Peter Touche of Ingenious Media, Lizzie Francke of the BFI, Tim Haslam and Hugo Grumbar of Embankment. |
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Jim Broadbent as Harold Fry, photo credit: David Gennard |
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The film’s accompanying soundtrack album will be released on April 28th via MovieScore Media. It features Eshkeri’s score, which consists of eight beautiful tracks featuring his solo electric violin and piano performances. The album is completed by two end credits songs which were performed by the Mercury Prize-nominated singer-songwriter Sam Lee. He wrote both songs – ‘Sweet Girl McCree’ and ‘MacCrimmon’s Lament’ – with James Keay. Ilan Eshekeri says, “The music for ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ accompanies him on his emotional journey of self-discovery and acceptance. The steady rhythm, harmonic progression and beautiful melodies have a meditative quality with moments of powerful emotional inspiration. This is music for reflection, meditation and discovery.” ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’ is the latest project in Ilan Eshkeri’s busy schedule. In 2022 alone, he released theevocative ‘Space Station Earth’ album and an accompanying out-of-this-earth multimedia concert tour made in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA); composed scores for ‘SAS: Rogue Heroes’ (BBC One), ‘Captains: World Cup’ (Netflix) and ‘Kingdom of Dreams’ (Sky); and performed four 10th anniversary shows of the beloved family favourite ‘The Snowman and The Snowdog’ alongside co-composer Andy Burrows and a live concert orchestra. Ilan Eshkeri is an award-winning composer, artist, songwriter, producer and creator whose work features in concert, theatre, film, television and video games. His eclectic body of work is united by his love of narrative. He has won and been nominated for many awards, including two BAFTAs and two Ivor Novellos, while his extensive catalogue includes music for diverse projects such as ‘Still Alice’, ‘Stardust’, ‘A Perfect Planet’ and ‘Ghost of Tsushima’. His talents have resulted in long-term collaborators with the legendary naturalist Sir David Attenborough and actor/director Ralph Fiennes, as well as work with Coldplay, Take That, Annie Lennox, David Gilmour, Sinead O’Connor, KT Tunstall, Tom Odell, Emeli Sandé and Ash. |
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