Famed North East Actor Dave Johns (I, Daniel Blake) Presents the UK Premiere of New Queer Drama Turtles at Tyneside Cinema Next Week to Coincide With Northern Pride
Famed Geordie actor Dave Johns – best known for playing the title role in Ken Loach’s iconic Newcastle drama I, Daniel Blake – will be coming to the Tyneside Cinema next week (Thursday, 25 July) to present the UK Premiere of his new film, Turtles following its world premiere earlier this year at the iconic SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas. The screening coincides with the month of Northern Pride.
In Turtles, North East actor and comedian Dave Johns gives a knockout performance as Thom, a man who goes to drastic lengths to rekindle his 35-year relationship with his partner Henri (Oliver Gourmet).
Equally funny and moving, Turtles is Johns' first performance in a gay drama, as well as being his first role not in the English language.
Johns will be in Newcastle to present the film to a UK audience for the first time at a special one-off screening at the Tyneside Cinema, and will talk about his experiences of making the film, which included having to learn French over the course of a few weeks, and conquering the language barrier with his fellow cast and crew by singing Beatles lyrics on set.
Talking about his experience of making the film and the prospect of bringing Turtles to the Tyneside, Johns said “Its good sometimes to get out of your comfort zone in a film, so shooting this film in Belgium with an all French speaking crew and cast, while having to learn to speak French from scratch for the role of Thom was an exciting, fun, and scary challenge for me.”
The result is a warm, funny, moving portrait of the challenges of relationships and growing older, told through deeply compassionate and empathetic storytelling. It’s also a rare film for portraying an older gay relationship on screen.
The screening of Turtles at the Tyneside next week will be a one-off chance for North East audiences to see the film and promises to be a special night for those in attendance.
Dave Johns will attend the UK Premiere screening of Turtles at the Tyneside Cinema on Thursday, 25 July, and is available for a limited number of interviews. Tickets for the screening are available from the Tyneside Cinema website here.
