Bankside Films Boards Ita Fitzgerald’s Comedy WEST THE ROAD Starring Hannah Waddingham, Imelda Staunton And More

Bankside Films have today announced their acquisition of WEST THE ROAD, written and directed by Ita Fitzgerald.  The film is due to commence production later this year in County Kerry, Western Ireland.

Fitzgerald is an Irish writer-director based in London who started her distinguished career writing and directing for the BBC and other UK broadcasters.  Ita is also an award-winning shorts and commercials filmmaker. WEST THE ROAD will be Ita’s feature directorial debut.

Cast attached to WEST THE ROAD include Academy Award® nominee and BAFTA award winner Imelda Staunton (The Crown, Vera Drake, Harry Potter), BAFTA Award nominee Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls, Holding, The Wind That Shakes the Barley), Eileen Walsh (Small Things Like These, Catastrophe, Eden, The Magdalene Sisters) and Emmy Award winning Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso, Tom Jones, The Fall Guy, Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two).

WEST THE ROAD tells the hilarious and heartfelt story of a group of women brought together by the death of their childhood friend, Margaret. When they discover that she was forced to give her daughter up for adoption at the age of fifteen, the group embark on a journey from the West of Ireland up the Wild Atlantic coastline – accompanied by a donkey called Thatcher - in search of the child so that Margaret’s mother, Bridie, can meet the grandchild she never knew she had. What follows is a story about friendship, love and the unstoppable resolve of women as they rediscover the joy of living.

WEST THE ROAD is produced by Matthew James Wilkinson (Yesterday, Seize Them!, Days of the Bagnold Summer) and Patrick Tolan (T.I.M., Daddy’s Head) of Stigma Films (Last Sentinel, Choose or Die, Burial, The Power) and John Wallace and Alan Maher of Cowtown Pictures (LOLA, Phil Lynott: Songs for While I’m Away, Rialto, The 8^th).  Stephen Kelliher and Sophie Green will serve as Executive Producers for Bankside Films. 

WEST THE ROAD is produced with production support from Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland. Niamh Fagan is executive producer for Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland.

Kelly Valentine Hendry and Jessica Mescall both serve as casting directors.

Ita Fitzgerald said "It is a dream come true to work with these amazing and talented women and I’m grateful to Bankside, Stigma and Cowtown for helping me bring this story to the screen.”

Stephen Kelliher of Bankside Films said “WEST THE ROAD is a wonderful celebration of life and the indomitable force of female friendship. We are thrilled to be able tell this story with such a talented cast and crew who will deliver a film that is full of laughter, joy and a great deal of emotion.”

Bankside Films will be introducing the film to buyers in Cannes later this month and represent worldwide rights.

Photo of Eileen Walsh is credited to Nigel Shafran, Photo of Imelda Staunton is credited to Dean Chalkley, Photo of Siobhan McSweeney is credited to Kristina Sälgvik and Photo of Hannah Waddingham is credited to Getty

About Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland
As the national agency for the Irish film, television drama, animation and documentary industry, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland is the creative partner to the sector, investing in talent, creativity and enterprise.  We are inspired by original storytelling that will emotionally move audiences at home and abroad. Through a wide range of practical funding supports across development, production, distribution, promotion and skills development, Screen Ireland supports the sector at every stage. We support filmmakers in their creative pursuit to share valuable artistic, cultural and commercial stories on screen.

About Bankside Films
Founded in London in 2007, Bankside Films is a leading international sales company providing worldwide distribution, executive producing and financing services to independent producers globally. The company also manages an in-house development and production slate, originating its own projects as well as partnering with filmmakers to commission and develop new material. Bankside Films also enjoys a close relationship with its sister company, Head Gear Films, a leading financier of global content whilst maintaining relationships with a broad range of international financiers. The company is driven by a passion for storytelling which challenges the status quo.

Bankside Films prides itself on working with unique and distinctive cinematic voices capable of delivering exciting new stories for worldwide audiences. Emerging filmmakers are intrinsic to the company’s ethos and we continue to champion them whilst remaining a key partner for more established directors and producers.

Past successes include BELLE sold globally to Searchlight Pictures, CARGO sold globally to Netflix, Sundance title THE HOLE IN THE GROUND which was acquired by A24 in the US, ORDINARY LOVE sold internationally to Focus Features and domestically to Bleecker Street, IN FABRIC sold domestically to A24, ETERNAL BEAUTY and WOLF which sold to Focus Features globally. 

BENEDICTION and YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER both premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2021. BRIAN AND CHARLES and YOU WON’T BE ALONE both premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022, and both sold internationally to Focus.  FLUX GOURMET was in official selection in Berlin 2022.  ON THE FRINGE and THE LISTENER both premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2022.  LOLA premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and then went on to a competition slot at the Edinburgh Film Festival and DALÍLAND was the closing night film at the Toronto Film Festival.

Most recently Bankside Films have taken Danny & Michael Philippou’s TALK TO ME to the Sundance Film Festival 2023 where it premiered in the Midnight section.  The film went on to play in the Berlinale Special section in Berlin and SXSW 2023. Vasilis Katsoupis’ INSIDE starring Willem Dafoe also premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2023 and sold globally to Focus Features.

In the documentary space, the company is drawn to broad appeal, human stories which can perform in the traditional theatrical space as well as on worldwide streaming services. Our approach to selling documentaries mirror that of fictional features and our relationships with buyers of documentary films are second to none.

About Stigma Films
Stigma has produced sixteen features to-date, most recently DADDY’S HEAD, a psychological horror, written and directed by Benjamin Barfoot, starring Julia Brown and Rupert Turnbull; T.I.M., an upcoming monster-in-the-house sci-fi thriller, starring Georgina Campbell and Eamon Farren, and SEIZE THEM! a medieval comedy for Entertainment Film Distributors, starring Aimee Lou Wood, Nicola Coughlan, Lolly Adefope and Nick Frost. Co-produced with Damian Jones of DJ Films, it’s slated for release summer 2023.

Upcoming is MONSTROUS BEAUTY, a prestige period drama and the second feature of Romola Garai (AMULET), starring Bella Ramsey, Dominic West, Ruth Negga and Fiona Shaw, is being launched at Cannes ‘23 with HanWay.

Stigma’s most recent release is heist musical, THE SCORE, starring Johnny Flynn (EMMA), Will Poulter (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 3) and Naomi Ackie (WHITNEY HOUSTON: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY). Also, Netflix Original CHOOSE OR DIE, starring Asa Butterfield. The film ranked No.1 in the UK, US and Canada on its opening weekend.

Prior to this, Sky Original feature, LAST TRAIN TO CHRISTMAS, starring Michael Sheen and Nathalie Emmanuel aired Christmas 2021, to a festive audience of over 1 million viewers.

Last year, Matthew also worked on the WWII thriller, BURIAL, and sci-fi thriller LAST SENTINEL, which are both being sold by Altitude Film Sales. BURIAL had its world premiere at FrightFest UK and was released via IFC and 101 Films.

Matthew also produced YESTERDAY for Working Title Films. It was written by Richard Curtis, directed by Danny Boyle and released worldwide by Universal.