Bankside Films is in development on Everything I Ever Knew, a true-life story to be directed by Mamma Mia! and The Iron Lady filmmaker Phyllida Lloyd.
It explores the story of a woman named Jacqui who discovers, after 25 years, that the father of her eldest son was an undercover police officer. The case is the subject of an ongoing public inquiry that reveals one of the worst cases of state-sanctioned abuse of women in recent British history.
The UK feature is based on a screenplay to be written by Suzie Miller, the writer behind Olivier and Tony-award winning hit one-woman play Prima Facie, with Bankside producing alongside Daisy Allsop of Archface Films, Katherine Churcher of KC Films and Kate Pakenham of KPPL Productions.
“I fell in love with Jacqui, the charisma of her storytelling and the images she conjures from the moment I sat down with her,” said Lloyd. “Even before the atom bomb goes off in her world, her tale is electrifying and insists on being told on screen. It was as if someone had taken this woman, thrown her against a wall and shattered her into a million pieces. As if everything that had come before in her life, that had seemed like hard won success, had been a ‘Truman Show’ of manipulation by the state.
“You want to help her make sense of it, give her the voice she deserves. To bring to life the brutal, outrageous rollercoaster of her story and inhabit her unique voice… this is a role for a mighty actress.”
“A story so shocking and unbelievable, it absolutely deserves to be told,” added Bankside’s Sophie Green. “We are thrilled to be working with such an impressive creative team of strong women to bring this true story of strength and survival to the big screen.”
Lloyd’s work across film, theatre and opera has had a focus on gender equality. Her most recent film Herself premiered at Sundance in 2020.
Miller practiced human rights law before turning to writing full-time. She is based between London and Sydney and is currently developing major theatre, film, and television projects in UK, US, and Australia.
Allsop continues working as head of acquisitions and development at UK sales agent WestEnd Films, while working on her own production slate. This project is not connected to WestEnd.
Another UK project is based on this subject is being shopped at the Cannes market. Sandra Goldbacher’s After You’d Gone is being produced by Al Clark of Wellington Films and Anna Griffin, with Gemma Arterton attached to star.
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