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Jul 18, 2019

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Gina McKee and Douglas Hodge Star in A Grand Romantic Gesture Directed By Joan Carr-Wiggin

Gina McKee and Douglas Hodge Star in A Grand Romantic Gesture Directed By Joan Carr-Wiggin

July 18, 2019 - Paragraph Pictures and Highfield Grange Studios announced today that principal photography has commenced on the new comedy-drama A Grand Romantic Gesture, starring BAFTA winner Gina McKee (Bodyguard, The Borgias, Notting Hill) and acclaimed award-winning actor Douglas Hodge (Black Mirror, Catastrophe, Red Sparrow).  Written and Directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin (If I Were You, Happily Ever After), the film is currently shooting on location in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. 

Linda Kash (Little Italy), Rose Reynolds (Once Upon a Time, Poldark), Rob Stewart (Killjoys) and Dylan Llewellyn (Derry Girls) round out the cast. 

When Ava (McKee) loses her job due to cutbacks, her husband (Stewart) and pregnant daughter (Reynolds), encourage her to take up gourmet cooking and prepare for life as a grandmother.  Instead she signs up for a drama class where she is cast as Juliet – and finds herself falling in love with her Romeo (Hodge). 

A Canada-UK co-production, A Grand Romantic Gesture is produced by David Gordian for Paragraph Pictures and Alan Latham for Highfield Grange Studios. The film is cast by Simone Reynolds, Stephanie Gorin and Mark Paladini. 

Financing includes support from Northern Ontario Heritage Fund and Ontario Creates.

levelFILM will distribute the film in Canada.  

Gina McKee and Douglas Hodge are both represented by Lindy King and John Hyslop of United Agents. 

About Paragraph Pictures 

Paragraph Pictures is a Toronto-based company that develops, finances and produces “Triple F” films – films written and directed by a woman with a woman in the lead role.  Paragraph’s principals have produced or executive produced eleven feature films. Paragraph specializes in intelligent, crowd-pleasing comedy-dramas about women over 40. 

About levelFILM:

levelFILM was founded in 2013 by THINKFilm veterans David Hudakoc and Michael Baker, and quickly amassed a library of more than 200 films. In 2018, levelFILM acquired Canadian distributor Search Engine Films, and added industry veteran John Bain as the company’s Head of Distribution.  2018 marked a banner year for the company, fueled by faith-based hit I Can Only Imagine, Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 11/9, Elle Fanning starrer Mary Shelley and Sundance darling Hearts Beat Loud, starring Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons. Recent releases include Tom Wilkinson in Dead in a Week (Or Your Money Back), Ethan Hawke’s Blaze and TIFF breakout Firecrackers, directed by Jasmin Mozaffari. Upcoming releases include Framing John DeLorean starring Alec Baldwin, Cannes Grand Jury Prize Winner Les Miserables, and Sundance-Award Winning The Last Black Man In San Francisco. The company is headquartered in Toronto and focuses on acquiring, developing and distributing quality independent content.

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