Terence Davies' adaptation of the classic Scottish novel Sunset Song is on track to start shooting on location in Scotland from August or September, according to producer Bob Last.
A global casting search is under way for a lead actress and Last will announce funding partners at Cannes. Scottish Screen has awarded £500,000 of Lottery funding to a film Last describes as "ambitious and substantial" in its scope.
Lewis Grassic Gibbon's novel was first published in 1932 and tells the powerful story of a proud young woman and her bittersweet relationship with the oppressive landscapes and Highland crofting culture in which she was born. It was previously filmed for BBC television in the 1970s with Vivien Heilbron as Chris Guthrie.
Last and Davies previously worked together on the director's acclaimed adaptation of The House Of Mirth (2000) starring Gillian Anderson and are currently developing a number of projects together including a crime story.
Last has also announced that he is "reluctantly" moving his base of operations from Edinburgh to London. Sunset Song will be produced under the banner of his Sell-Out Pictures which produced the award-winning animated short Promise Land.
The company's other projects include Rachel Mathews' screenplay Merrywood and Viy, a contemporary horror story set in the Balkans which marks the comeback of cult writer-director Richard Stanley. Last's animation company Ink will continue to operate from its base in Dundee.
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