Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England to get simultaneous UK release

Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England will be the first UK film released simultaneously in cinemas, on DVD, free TV and VoD.

Film4, Picturehouse Entertainment, 4DVD, Film4 Channel and the BFI Distribution Fund are partnering on the day-and-date release, which will take place on July 5 [Friday].

A digital masterclass designed to immerse audiences in the making of the film will also launch around release, developed by Film4.0 in partnership with the filmmakers. 

Written by Amy Jump and produced by Claire Jones and Andy Starke at Rook Films, the film is set during the English Civil War of the mid-17th century and follows a small group of deserters fleeing from a raging battle who become caught up in a hunt for treasure.

While crossing a vast mushroom circle, which provides their first meal, the group quickly descend into a chaos of arguments, fighting and paranoia, and, as it becomes clear that the treasure they seek might be something other than gold, they slowly become victim to the terrifying energies trapped in the field.

Michael Smiley (Kill List), Peter Ferdinando (Tony), Reece Shearsmith (The League of Gentlemen), Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh), Richard Glover (Sightseers) and Ryan Pope (Ideal) star.

A Field in England is the first feature to be developed and fully financed through Film4’s innovation hub Film4.0. It is also among the first to receive funding from the BFI Distribution Fund New Models strand, which supports experimental release models.

Anna Higgs, Film4.0 commissioning editor, said: “From the word go, A Field in England was a hugely original idea - you’d expect no less from Ben and Amy – so we wanted to build the project with the team in a way that was true to that.

“The film is a really exciting next step in the progression of Ben’s work as a director and will be something the likes of which a whole generation of audiences won’t have ever seen. I’m incredibly pleased we’ve formed this innovative partnership to take this brilliant film out to them in a truly groundbreaking way.”

 Sue Bruce-Smith, Film4’s head of commercial and brand strategy, said: “Ben is undoubtedly one of our boldest, brightest and most audience savvy filmmakers and so it made complete sense to look to develop a project with him that would lend itself to this kind of daring and innovative release.

“We’re lucky to have found in Picturehouse Entertainment, 4DVD, the Film4 channel and BFI partners who share our vision to disrupt the status quo and experiment with new distribution patterns, to create this exciting event style release.”

Protagonist Pictures is handling international sales.