Over the last 16 years, Otley-born filmmaker and documentarian Clio Barnard has earned a reputation as one of Britain's best and most vital social realist filmmakers. From The Arbor and The Selfish Giant to Dark River and Ali & Ava, Barnard has delivered hit after hit. And her latest, Birmingham-based festival circuit darling I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, looks set to see Barnard's hot streak continue. An adaptation of Kieran Goddard's same-named novel, this one stars Furious breakout Lola Petticrew and a veritable who's who of in demand British and Irish talent (Daryl McCormack! Anthony Boyle! Jay Lycurgo! Joe Cole!) as a band of childhood pals who've partied hard and now find themselves reckoning with their unfulfilled dream amid a major housing crisis. Check out the trailer below;
Ever wondered what Skins would've been like if it was set in Brum, the cast were all a decade older, and it was shot through with Clio Barnard's bruising yet ethereally beautiful brand of social realist filmmaking? Well, I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning looks like it's got you covered. Boozing, bust-ups, banter, and the malaise of oncoming middle age all swirl around this first trailer for Barnard's new housing estate drama, with The Streets' Original Pirate Material classic 'Turn The Page' providing the soundtrack to a film that seems to simultaneously be serving up a celebration of community and an elegy to its loss amid the rubble of demolished council blocks. In other words, we've got a Clio Barnard movie on our hands — and one buoyed by the talents of some of the most exciting actors working right now.
With rave reviews coming out of several film festivals this year already, including Cannes (where the film won both the Audience Award and the coveted Palm Dog), I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning is heading our way with an electric atmosphere already surrounding its release. We look forward to being struck by Barnard's latest when it arrives in UK cinemas on December 4.