Spandau Ballet doc set for Cannes

Soul Boys of the Western World, a documentary about 1980s group Spandau Ballet that proved a hit at SXSW in March, is to be screened to buyers at the Cannes Marché next month, handled by UK sales company Metro International.

Members of the band, which had more than 20 hit singles such as True and Gold, are expected to make an appearance on the Croisette, five years after launching the project at the film festival.

They will be joined by first-time director George Hencken to screen the film and launch international sales, ahead of a theatrical release later this year.

The film charts the rise of the band, which formed in the late 70s and went on to sell more than 25 million records around the world. The archive-only feature tells how band members Tony Hadley, Gary Kemp, Martin Kemp, Steve Norman and John Keeble came together, broke up and reformed in 2009 after a decade apart.

The film received its world premiere in Competition at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas in March. Hencken, a long-time collaborator of filmmaker Julien Temple, combines newsreel footage with never-before-seen video from the band’s personal archives, as well as interviews with all five band members.

Metro International is handling worldwide sales for the film. Head of sales Natalie Brenner said: “Following the incredibly enthusiastic reaction to the film in the US, we know that audiences really connect with the music, the vivid depiction of the 80s and the emotional journey the band takes us on.”