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Logline Joanna wants to become a Nun. At the convent, a bunch of women with border-line mental illness make her wonder if she’s following the right path.

Synopsis Joanna (Emily Beecham) is about to graduate from University with her future set up for her but she has decided to face up to a truth she has been avoiding her whole life. Since she was small, she has had the desire to become a Nun. She is set on joining a closed order of Benedictines. Her best friend cannot believe it, her boyfriend is devastated and her mother (Amanda Donohoe) feels it’s just a phase. The only encouragement she gets is from the family’s religious housekeeper, Consuela (Harriet Thorpe). When she finally gets to the convent, the liberalism of a politically active Novice Sister, Ignatious () and a group of nuns with border-line mental illness, including a psychotic Mother Superior () and an alcoholic football fan in charge of the vineyard (), an over-pious floor mopper, Sister Hilda (Pauline McLynn), at first, makes her wonder if she’s following the right path. But as she gets to know the Sisters, their enormous community bond and the spiritual love that connects them she starts to see glimpses of her own spiritual fulfillment. Several weeks into her vocation she discovers something in herself which brings a whole new series of secrets out into the open until eventually the bond she has with Sister Ignatious dictates and assists in her destiny. Made by the award winning filmmakers of Gypo and Ruby Blue, here another social issue is tackled a little less earnestly and yet with equal heart as before.

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About the Writer/Director Jan Dunn

This is Jan Dunn’s third feature film in as many years, before The Calling, she had written and directed two multi award winning, critically acclaimed feature films, Ruby Blue (UK cinemas 2008) starring Bob Hoskins and French screen legend, Josiane Balasko and Gypo, (UK cinemas 2006) starring Paul McGann, Pauline McLynn and Rula Lenska as well as a number of short films, most notably her comedies Mary’s Date and Joan and her documentary shorts, The Lumber-Jills (about women in World War Two who took over the running of forests in the UK including everything from physically chopping trees down to haulage and pit building) and Dora about the naive artist, Dora Holzhandler. As well as winning major awards including a prestigious British Independent Film Award for Gypo, both films were critically acclaimed with four and five star reviews in mainstream publications in the UK and US. In 2006, The Hollywood Reporter stated Gypo had marked her out as “a filmmaker to watch” with Screen International calling her “a very promising new British Talent”. Jan is also attached as director to a number of projects outside those being developed by her company. She has now acquired the film rights to the best selling novel Sacred Country by British novelist Rose Tremain (OBE), she is currently adapting the screenplay herself and the film will be produced by veteran UK producer, Pippa Cross and Dunn is already attracting a top international cast. Their company, Maeve Films, recently won a Kent Business Award, notably for the work they have done getting young disenfranchised kids into the work place or on to higher education through the shadowing schemes they have been attaching to all their films. Dunn is particularly passionate about helping poor, working class kids as she was one herself. She grew up in Maidenhead, Berkshire where her dad worked in a local factory and her mum was an auxillery nurse before retiring as a school dinner-lady. She believes that creatively her childhood was shaped by typically British working class nineteen seventies holidays in caravans or at Butlins holiday camps. Her family were part of the exodus to British seaside towns still enjoyed by factory workers well into the nineteen seventies, each summer in the days when the factories closed down for two weeks. Dunn believes it was inevitable that she would end up living in a seaside town. Jan Dunn believes her destiny was changed completely by her drama teacher who discovered and encouraged a talent for acting and inspired her to read a novel for the first time aged fifteen. This lead directly to youth theatre and amateur dramatics. She went on to train as a classical actress at drama school in London and has acted in everything from

Shakespeare to Shaw. She is now Industry Professor at Thanet College, Kent; has served two elected terms on the board of Women in Film, is currently on the Board for Kent Film 3

Office and is a member of BAFTA and DirectorsUK. Page

Producer - Elaine Wickham After completing her Masters Degree in Feature Film Producing at Goldsmiths University, Elaine Wickham teamed up with writer/director Jan Dunn, to produce their first feature film Gypo, which earned Elaine and Medb Films industry recognition as well as invitations to festivals around the world. The film won a prestigious British Independent Film Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Production" and numerous film and cast awards internationally. Elaine produced Jan's second feature Ruby Blue, starring Bob Hoskins. The film won “Best UK Feature” at the London Independent Film Festival, the “Grand Jury Prize” at the Washington DC Independent Film, “Best Actor” award at the Oxford International Film Festival and the “Spirit Award” at the Moondance Film Festival amongst others. Last year, Elaine completed her directorial debut with a UK Film Council funded short film, My Mother, produced by Jan, which won “Best Director” at Euroshorts Film Festival, “Special Jury Award” at the Houston International Film Festival and “Best Short Film” at the London Independent Film Festival and a “Special Jury Mention” at the A Corto Di Donne Film Festival and Busho Film Festival and other awards. My Mother is currently screening in competition at many film festivals worldwide. Elaine was recently selected on the UKFC Cine Euro Programme, and was on UKFC Guiding Lights Scheme where she was mentored by Michael Kuhn, she was also selected as the UK candidate on the European Film Promotion talent scheme “Producer on the Move” in Cannes 2007 highlighting British new producing talent. Elaine has been supported by Screen South, European Development Fund, the British Council and the British Department of Trade and Industry. South African born, she is now setting up a co-production funding project with Gatehouse Studios in Cape Town to produce three indigenously written South African films, herself directing the adaptation of the acclaimed novel, Ja, No Man by Richard Poplak. She is developing her directorial debut with Screen South, Lollipop.

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Director’s Notes, THE CALLING

By Writer / Director Jan Dunn

Once again my film has been written entirely around constraints of budget and location. When I set out on such restricted journeys, I am never entirely sure what kind of production value I can attain to but pretty much set out with my fingers crossed, gifted with a wonderful creative team.

When I feel confident that a realistic film budget may be raised for my films, I will write and shoot in a more traditional manner with more traditionally commercial fare. Unfortunately most filmmakers today have to be aware from the outset of the market place and their (ie: my) value in it.

As with my first two films, I am driven to write on contemporary social issues but unlike Gypo and Ruby Blue, this time it was my intention to create something a little more gentle and less gritty in its dramatic delivery, more measured and a little more idiosyncratic. I’ve always been fascinated by people who commit to one spiritual teaching and I started with the question of why would a young girl nowadays give up a modern life and all its excesses to devote herself to nothing but prayer and contemplation, in the perhaps naive belief that the power of the collective would help towards world change? It is a subject which has always interested me. As suspected, during my research it became apparent that this is quite rare today and the majority of British women who make the choice to commit to a spiritual teaching, of whichever denomination, tend to be over the age of forty.

How odd a Calling might seem to everyone around this girl, family and friends, particularly if there is no great religious commitment in her background?

I thought it would be interesting if that “calling” might also be hard to accept from a group of nuns who are themselves not used to young women taking their vocation seriously and instead of welcoming this young woman with open arms, they might be weary of it and perhaps a little suspicious of it lasting.

What is interesting about a calling to be with God is that there is absolutely nothing tangible to offer an audience because a calling is an internal drive. An alarming number of much older nuns seem to have had their initiation into the order forced upon them after shaming their families with pregnancy but nowadays this tends not to be hidden by an apparent “calling”. However, motherhood and/or a lack of it is a through line in the film that I wanted to commit to as it does come up regularly in interviews with nuns from any denomination and is often the ultimate reason to leave an order. This loss is something that Sister Ignatious has born and manifests in her maternal role as Novice Sister in the Priory. The idea for some that a calling is internal and for others it is divine was repeatedly met

with the mantra from all the nuns and monks I spoke with that you “Enter for one reason,

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and stay for another1”. A phrase I decided to use on more than one occasion with the dialogue. Unlike my other films, where the dialogue was written within the prose of my screenplay, this time I established every line of dialogue within the structure of the screenplay in a traditional sense.

It is strange to me that for one person, a commitment to God can lead to something extreme like a violent act such as strapping a bomb to ones body and blowing something up with a lot of people around. Yet for another person a commitment to God might mean a different kind of extreme as joining a cloistered order of Benedictines where ones whole time is taken up with prayer, meditation and ecumenical conversation. My lead character of Joanna in the end, “finds her own way2” of changing the world and doing something to make a difference.

Yet with all the questions around why someone would choose to join a closed order of monks or nuns at the same time there is something very attractive about a contemplative life in a countryside Priory that many people might relate to as an escape. The element of escape might be the easiest for a modern audience to acknowledge. So it was a determined choice to make my protagonist come from a more privileged background with very little in her life she would need to escape from.

Inspiration: The over all inspiration for this fictional order of nuns came from our resident local nuns in Minster Abbey, Kent, just a few miles from where I live in Ramsgate. This is a closed order of thirteen Benedictine Nuns in an Abbey which has stood since the sixth century when Pope Gregory landed to begin his mission to bring Christianity to Britain. There have been resident monks or nuns since that time and still enclosed there today. A short walk away from my house is St.Augustine’s Abbey, where the resident local Benedictine monks live, chanting five times a day in the public church across the road (accessed by a tunnel under the road). It’s a strange atmosphere of being somewhere else in time and yet in the modern world. They spend several times a day in silent, contemplative prayer or chanting, eating in silence whilst being read to and yet at the same time engage in trips to Tesco’s, the dentist, or doctor and have to deal with their own blogs and emails. We even got to borrow some bee-keeping gear from them and a donation of real Sanctuary honey as props.

Sister Ignatious, played by Brenda Blethyn: As the spiritual Mentor to this young girl, I wrote the Novice Sister Ignatious for Brenda Blethyn (Secrets & Lies, Little Voice,) I’ve always wanted to work with Brenda and I knew she would bring something special and very real to Ignatious. Sister Ignatious is inspired by two real life nuns, a politicised seventy four year old Franciscan Sister3 forever branded an outspoken and dangerous rebel by the Official Church who has been threatened by The Vatican with expulsion had it not been for numerous other religious communities standing up in defence of her signing a pro-choice ad in the New York Times, including other Sisters.

1 Quote from The Prioress, played by Susannah York, The Calling. 6 2 A reference from Consuela, played by Harriet Thorpe in relaying Joanna’s story at the end of The Calling. 3 Unveiled The Hidden Lives of Nuns by Cheryl Reed in reference to Sister Margaret Traxler Page

Combined with the inspiration of a Benedictine Sister, sixty-nine year old Sister Joan Chittister who recently agreed to address the first international conference of a group called Women’s Ordination Worldwide. Chittister’s Prioress was sent a letter from the Vatican to issue a “precept of obedience” forbidding her to attend on pain of undefined penalties. Instead on the day of Chittisters departure for Ireland, her Prioress handed her a 127 co-signed letter from all the active nuns in their community telling the Prioress to ignore the order from the Vatican and thirty five of the younger nuns pledged that if Chittister were punished, they wanted to share her penalty.4

Suffice to say what Jo finds when she gets behind the convent walls is a group of women more politicised and driven by justice and equality that she or any of her friends in the “modern” outside world had been themselves.

Shot entirely on location in Kent, my fictitious “St Bertha’s Priory” (named in homage to the first Queen of Kent who, with her husband, pagan King Æthelbert, brought Christianity to England) is a fourteenth century old Priory, Salmestone Grange in Margate, which has been privately owned just for the past four years, when it was purchased from the above mentioned Benedictine monks of Ramsgate. Nowadays it is only used for weddings and wakes.

“As a filmmaker I have been inspired by many directors such as Hitchcock, Powell, Lean, Schlessinger and the usual suspects but also by the works of Bunuel and consequently Almodover and French women auteurs such as Diane Kurys and Josiane Balasko. I hope my British background of growing up with Ealing studios comedies and dramas, combined with my love of European cinema, an unusual combo of taste shows more so in this film than my earlier ones. Although my leading lady in Ruby Blue was written especially for and starred the French screen legend, Josiane Balasko for which I am proud to say was her first English language film.” JD

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4 TIME magazine A Nuns Dangerous Talk Aug 20, 2001 Page

ABOUT THE CAST

Emily Beecham as Joanna Upon graduating from the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art, Emily immediately began accepting professional film offers. She made her big screen debut in the thriller Bon Voyage and soon after that appeared in the supernatural TV series Afterlife. Other film credits include; 28 Weeks Later, Rise of the Footsoldier, Pulse, Gods Wounds. She has appeared on many Television shows, including; The Fear, Silent Witness, Unforgiven, The Bill, Damages, Marple and is best known for her roles in the series The Street and The Village.

Brenda Blethyn as Sister Ignatious Award winning actress Brenda Blethyn received a BAFTA for her work in Mike Leigh’s film Secrets & Lies. She is also a two time Academy Award nominee (Secrets & Lies and Little Voice). Other major film credits include; Atonement, Pride & Prejudice, A River Runs Through it, Music From Another Room, Beyond The Sea, Pumpkin, Mary and Martha. Most recently she can be seen playing the title role in the Television series, Vera. Other television credits include the, Outside Edge, Smith & Jones and the miniseries War and Peace.

Susannah York as The Prioress Susannah York first gained recognition for playing ‘Abigail Williams’ in a Television production of The Crucible, alongside Sean Connery as John Procter. She then went on to co-star in many films such as Tunes of Glory, Loss of Innocence and Tom Jones. As her film career progressed she received widespread recognition for her performance in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? For which she won a BAFTA and was nominated for an Academy Award. Other film credits include; Superman,

Superman 2, A Man For All Seasons, A Handful of Time, Fate. TV; Casualty, Holby City, Trainer, Devices & Desires, 8

Boon. Page

Rita Tushingham as Sister Gertrude Rita Tushingham made her film debut as a teenager in Tony Richardson's adaption of Shelagh Delaney's kitchen sink drama A Taste of Honey for which she won a BAFTA award and Best Actress Award at The . She then went on to win a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer. Her extensive film career includes roles in Girl With Green Eyes, Doctor Zivago, The Knack… and How To Get It, The Bed Sitting Room, A Taste of Honey, Outside Bet, Gospel According to Harry, Resurrected, The Judgement In Stone, Flying and Diamonds For Breakfast. TV credits include; Bread, No Strings and Bedlam, to name a few.

Pauline McLynn as Sister Hilda

Pauline’s Film credits include; Angela’s Ashes, Quills, Iris, Noble, Being Julia, Hells Pavement, and Far and Away to name a few. She is best known for her work on the original British Television series Shameless. She has also played recurring roles in the series Father Ted, Clatterford, Threesome and most recently, Father Figure. She has guest starred in many others including French and Saunders, Pramface, High Hopes, Ballykissangel.

Amanda Donohoe as Trish Amanda’s extensive film career includes appearances in; Liar Liar, The Madness of King George, I’m Losing You, The Rainbow, Hooded Angels, Wild About Harry, Circus, Stardust, One Night Stand, Phoenix Blue and TV credits include recurring roles on; LA Law, Murder City, Bad Girls, Emmerdale and Game, Set, Match. She has guest starred on many others, including; Frasier, Ally McBeal, Starship Troopers 3, The Legend of Tarzan, to name a few.

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CAST

Sister Ignatious Brenda Blethyn Joanna Emily Beecham The Prioress Susannah York Sister Gertrude Rita Tushingham Sister Hilda Pauline McLynn Sister Kevin Joanna Scanlan Sister Ambrose Susannah Harker

Consuela Harriet Thorpe Trish Amanda Donohoe The Bishop Corin Redgrave Vivie Chloe Sirene Father Kieren Justin Salinger Priest James Norton

CREDITS

Writer/Director Jan Dunn

Producer Elaine Wickham

Executive Producers Pippa Cross Paul Dixon Peter Gilroy Frances Patterson Jo Nolan Geoff Miles Simon Hume Kendall

Co-Producers Jan Dunn Ricci-Lee Berry Simon Hinkly Gabrielle Linderman

Line Producer Frances Patterson 10

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Cinematography Ole Bratt Birkeland

Production & Costume Stevie Stewart

Editor Emma Collins

Hair & Make up Katy Fray

Sound Neil Collymore & Maurice Hillier

Original Score Janette Mason

Additional Choral Canterbury Cathedral Choir

Casting Tania Polentarutti

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