Carol Morley's '7 Miles Out' premieres in competition at BFI London Film Festival

Left · 2British writer-director Carol Morley has adapted her semi-autobiographical novel 7 Miles Out, about her adolescence in Stockport near Manchester in the 1970s and 1980s, into a feature film. 1 2 Left · 1The film had its world premiere in the official competition of the BFI London Film Festival on Saturday 17 October and is due for release in UK and Irish cinemas in 2027. 1 Left · 2Lucy Halliday plays Ann, who struggles with grief after the death of her father, played by Aidan Gillen, and finds escape in the punk and new-wave scene and in her friendship with Hel; Gemma Whelan plays her mother, and Kasper Hilton-Hille her brother. 1 2

Left · 1The soundtrack features Joy Division, New Order and The Raincoats, and the plot turns on Joy Division singer Ian Curtis's suicide; original songs were written by Morley and Carly Paradis, with cinematography by Agnès Godard and editing by Raluca Petre. 1 Left · 1In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Morley said the story is based on her father and his suicide, that she wanted audiences to feel catharsis and lightness rather than despondency, and that she hoped to help people talk about suicide. 1 Left · 1Morley said she held an open casting call in Stockport attended by 450 people, that many of the cast are first-timers, that the shoot was on a tight budget within a 15-minute radius in Stockport, and that the songs are sung live. 1

Left · 1Peter Bradshaw's Guardian review called the film "rich, tender and terribly funny and sad", praised Halliday's performance and Gillen's portrayal of the father, and compared some touches to Terence Davies. 2 Left · 1Bradshaw described the film as a story of reinventing one's teenage self as family stability collapses, and of the sadness behind punk and new wave, concluding it is "a poignant, smart film" that is "such a pleasure". 2