+ Q&A with cast Lindsay Duncan, Clarke Peters, Sue Johnston, writer Iain Weatherby, co-creator Charlie Covell and director Chloë Wicks. Chaired by Miranda Sawyer.
Truelove is a unique spin on a cat and mouse thriller, centering on a gang of older friends who make a pact that, if and when the time comes, rather than let each other suffer a dreadful decline they will engineer a more dignified death as a sign of ‘Truelove’. But when an intrepid young police officer discovers that there is more to this group of retirees than meets the eye, events soon take a surprising and dangerous turn…
With a core cast in their 70s, Truelove offers a refreshingly different take on older age, with its thrilling twists, wry sense of humour, and a passionate love story at its heart, celebrating second chances and the idea that it’s never too late. Meanwhile underpinning all of this is the knottiest of moral questions – is it ever right to help end of life?
Filming took place across Bristol, Somerset and Wales with support from local Film Offices.
About the panel
Lindsay Duncan is a Tony and Olivier award winning actress, renowned for her extensive career both on stage and screen. Film credits include the Oscar and Golden Globe award-winning film Birdman alongside Michael Keaton, Marc Webb’s Gifted, Roger Michell’s Le Weekend, Richard Curtis’ About Time starring alongside Bill Nighy, and Tim Burton’s Alice through the Looking Glass. On television Lindsay has recently appeared in Apple TV’s The Morning Show. Other appearances include; as Ysabeau De Clermont in Sky One’s A Discovery of Witches, His Dark Materials, as Clementine Churchill in Churchill’s Secret, Frau Bellinghaussen in Stephen Poliakoff’s Closer to the Enemy, Grace in HBO’s critically acclaimed The Leftovers and Lady Smallwood in BBC’s award-winning Sherlock.
Not only is Lindsay recognised for her work on screen but she is also admired for her work on stage. Throughout her extensive career Lindsay has appeared on stages all over the UK, in the West End and on Broadway. Lindsay most recently appeared in Strindberg’s The Dance of Death for the Arcola Theatre. Before this, she appeared at the National Theatre in Hansard, a new play by Simon Wood, as Claire in A Delicate Balance on Broadway, on London’s West End as Judith Bliss in Hay Fever directed by Howard Davies, and as Amanda Prynne in Private Lives alongside Alan Rickman for which she won a Tony, Olivier, Variety Club, Drama Desk and Critics Circle award for Best Actress. Lindsay was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2009 for her services to Drama.
Clarke Peters is an actor and director, well-known for playing Lester Freamon on HBO TV series The Wire, as well as Albert Lambreaux on Treme. Recent credits include; I Wanna Dance with Somebody, The Man Who Fell to Earth (Showtime/CBS), The Irregulars (Netflix), Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods (for which he was nominated for 2021 BAFTA and NAACP Image awards), His Dark Materials (HBO), AMC series La Fortuna, and Foundation (Apple+). His film credits include Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Harriet, Mona Lisa, and John Wick. Aside from his acting credits, Clarke is also an accomplished director and musical book writer, most notably for Five Guys Named Joe. He recently finished filming the TV mini-series Eric, opposite Benedict Cumberbatch.
BAFTA-nominated and OBE Sue Johnston rose to fame after playing Sheila Grant in the well-loved series Brookside and then went on to play the iconic roles of Barbara Royle in The Royle Family, Dr Grace Foley in the award-winning BBC series Waking the Dead, Gloria Price in Britain’s long-adored ITV series Coronation Street and of course Miss Denker in Downton Abbey. Sue’s more recent credits include Witness Number Three for Story Films/Channel 5, Jimmy McGovern’s Time on BBC alongside Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, Channel 4’s The Help with Jodie Comer and popular comedy series The Cockfields. Sue will next be seen in Ben Wheatley’s latest series Generation Z. Aside from her extensive work on screen, Sue is also an accomplished theatre actress. Sue was appointed OBE in the 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to Drama and to Charity.
Iain Weatherby wrote with longtime collaborator Charlie Covell on Channel Four’s Humans and has been in writers’ rooms for Temple (Sky) and for Kaos (Netflix). He is writing episodes of the Dutch thriller Safe Harbor for Mark Williams (Ozark) and his comedy drama Boxes is in development with Channel Four. A feature script Hollywood Berlin, about German emigrés in LA in 1941, is being produced by Slate Entertainment. In the real world Iain has worked in advertising and finance and serves as a trustee of the Charlie Waller Trust, a mental health charity. He lives in rural Dorset.
Charlie Covell is a London-based writer and actor who worked with Clerkenwell Films on the BAFTA-winning Channel 4/Netflix series The End of the F***ing World: Charlie wrote all episodes and served as an executive producer on the second season. Alongside Truelove, Charlie is currently showrunning an 8-part series – Kaos – for Netflix, which is due to be out next year. They’re also writing a new feature film version of Pippi Longstocking for Heyday Films/Studio Canal.
Chloë Wicks’ recent directing work includes The Flatshare (Paramount+) and On the Edge: Cradled (Channel 4), which won the TV Foundation’s Victor Adebodun prize for debut director. Chloë’s debut feature as a writer/director is currently in development with Film4.
Miranda Sawyer (chair) is an English journalist and broadcaster. Besides her features and radio criticism for The Observer, her writing has appeared in GQ, Vogue and The Guardian. She is a regular arts critic in print, on television and on radio. Her most recent book, Out of Time, was published by Fourth Estate/HarperCollins. She is currently writing her third book to be published in 2024. She broadcasts on Radio 4 and for The Culture Show (BBC TV). She is on the board of Tate Members, the South London Gallery and Sound Women.
TRUELOVE (EPISODE 1)
Director: Chloe Wicks
Production Company: Clerkenwell Films
Writer, Co-Creator & Executive Producer: Iain Weatherby
Co-Creator & Executive Producer: Charlie Covell
Producer: Alex Walsh-Taylor
Executive Producers for Clerkenwell Films: Petra Fried, Emily Harrison, Andy Baker
Associate Executive Producer for Clerkenwell Films: Charlie Langdell
Cast
Lindsay Duncan (Phil)
Clarke Peters (Ken)
Sue Johnston (Marion)
Phil Davis (Nigel)
Peter Egan (David)
Karl Johnson (Tom)
Fiona Button (Kate)
Kiran Sonia Sawar (Ayesha)
UK 2023
47 mins
Digital
Total running time: 110 mins
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Tue 12 Dec 17:40 (+ Q&A with Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost), 20:40 (+ intro)
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Mon 18 Dec 18:30
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Programme notes and credits compiled by Sight and Sound and the BFI Documentation Unit
Notes may be edited or abridged
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