A six year journey

Dr Tina Gharavi has directed Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day, starring award-winning actors including Timothy Spall, Jennifer Saunders, Jack Whitehall and Lily Allen.

The movie, an adaptation of the acclaimed author’s 1919 novel, will be released this autumn. It tells the story of Katherine Hilbury and her quest to study astronomy. The action takes place during the era of women’s suffrage and significant leaps in science and technology.

“Making this film has been a six year journey and so wonderful to finish principle photography on this production.,” said Dr Gharavi. “So many times it almost didn’t happen but there was a lot of people who worked to help get this over the line, including the local screen agency North East Screen  and the talent in the film. I am lucky to have a Geordie Army behind this production and very proud to be one of the first period films shot in the Region.”

A lot to offer

Dr Gharavi, a BAFTA and Sundance nominated director, is a Reader in English: Screenwriting and Film, in the University’s School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics, and founder of Newcastle-based Bridge + Tunnel Productions. She made the film on location around the North-East in places including Beamish, the Lit & Phil, the Mining Institute and Ryhope Engines Museum in Sunderland.

She said: “The region has a lot to offer and is not well understood for its diverse filming locations. We were able to employ this to create a tapestry of London in 1910. Places like the Ryhope Engines Museum are some of the jewels in the crown of the region. Beamish just stunned our producers who would not believe there was such a resource in the UK. The North East is undiscovered, but this film will help put these locations on the map for producers.”

As well as local landmarks, there may be some familiar faces popping up in scenes, with a number of University academics acting as supporting artists during production. There were also opportunities for some School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics former students to get their first job in the film industry, acting as production assistants on set.

Dr Gharavi said: “There is a lot of talent in the region and films will be increasingly shooting here as the North East Screen supports films to come North. Bringing my former students on-board was a no-brainer. I knew they had a lot of passion - and great training - and this was a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with them and see them grow their wings and fly. I am enormously proud of my students who worked on the production.”

Dr Gharavi is an award-winning, Iranian-born, British-American artist, director and screenwriter, best-known for telling innovative cross-platform stories about misfits, outsiders and rebels, as well as people in extraordinary situations. She is also known for her interactive digital projects and museum exhibitions that have toured internationally and are housed in permanent collections at institutions such as the BFI and MIT.