The family comedy is the first feature to come out of new UK production company Double M Films, set up by brothers Marcus and Andrew Markou.

Stephen Dillane, Georges Corraface, Georgia Groome and Ed Stoppard have signed up to star in family comedy Papadopoulos & Sons, which starts shooting on Aug 8.

The supporting cast includes Cosima Shaw, Frank Dillane, Selina Cadell and ex EastEnders actor Todd Carty.

Dillane, who won a TV BAFTA for his performance in The Shooting Of Thomas Hurndall and was nominated for an Emmy for John Adams in 2008, plays a widowed Greek businessman who, after losing everything in the financial crash, sets about trying to ressurect the forgotten family fish & chip shop with the help of his children and larger-than-life brother.  

The film has been written and will be directed by LAMDA graduate and playwright Marcus Markou who made short film The Last Temptation Of Chris in 2009.

It will be the first feature to come out of Double M Films, which Markou set up earlier this year with his brother Andrew, who founded B2B online publisher Dynamis Plc.

Privately financed by the brothers, the £1m film will start shooting on location in London on Aug 8, for four weeks. It is being produced by Sara Butler.

The son of a Greek Cypriot immnigrant, Markou told Screen that the script is partly based on personal experiences. “It’s the immigrant’s tale, updated from films we are used to like East Is East. It’s about what happens to the identity of an immigrant family who have then established themsleves and become very much part of the British fabric, and it’s about the main character returning to his cultural roots.”

“The challenge with an independent, privately financed low budget feature like ours is whether you can attract the best cast you can. In this case we really have,” he added.

 

 

 

 

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