Olivia Colman and John Lithgow star in Sophie Hydes' new project, JIMPA

05 08 2024 – Press release

Olivia Coleman and John Lithgow in JIMPA. Photo credit: Mark De Blok.

Filming has now entered its third week at the Screen Australia-backed site JIMPAthe new film from acclaimed Australian writer/director Sophie Hyde (Good luck to you, Lion Grande) with Oscar winner Olivia Colman (The favorite, the lost girl) and Golden Globe winner John Lithgow (Killers of the Flower Moon, Crown, Old Man). Following filming in Amsterdam, further filming will take place in the coming months in Adelaide, Australia and Helsinki, Finland.

JIMPA is a heartfelt and uplifting multi-generational family story. Hannah (Colman) takes her non-binary trans teenager Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde) to Amsterdam to visit their gay grandfather “Jimpa” (Lithgow). But Frances' desire to stay with Jimpa for a year abroad forces Hannah to reconsider her beliefs about parenting.

Colman and Lithgow are joined in the cast by Aud Mason-Hyde, co-director of their first feature film, as well as Daniel Henshall (The Royal Hotel), Kate Box (Erotic stories), Eamon Farren (The Witcher), Cody Fern (American horror story), Tilda Cobham-Hervey (I'm a woman), Deborah Kennedy (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart), Hans Kesting (No. ten), Zo Love Smith (Shame NL), Romana Vrede (I don't want to dance), Jean Janssens (Campus 12) and Frank Sanders (The Rozettes musical).

Protagonist Pictures will launch international sales at Cannes and CAA Media Finance, which helped finance the film, will take over North American rights. JIMPA received major production investment from Screen Australia and Align.

CEO of Screen Australia Deirdre Brennan said: “Screen Australia is delighted to support this new Australian feature film from Sophie Hyde. Sophie is a masterful storyteller and has assembled an exceptional creative team to bring this story to life. With Olivia Colman and John Lithgow leading an impressive cast, JIMPA is intended to inspire audiences at home and around the world.

CEO of Protagonist Pictures David Bishop said: “Time and time again, we see a special filmmaker with a unique vision create a film that can truly break through and touch audiences, just like Sophie achieved with Good luck to you Leo Grande. With Olivia and John rounding out such a talented cast, we know she'll do the same with JIMPA“.

Writer/director Sophie Hyde said: “I feel privileged to be able to make this film and to work again with so many collaborators that I know and trust, while creating wonderful new relationships with a superb cast and crew, including Olivia , John and Aud. I am delighted to have them by my side. This story is very personal and its realization is filled with sadness and a lot of joy. I am particularly happy to be able to work with my child Aud on their first feature film. The stories we tell help us determine who we want to be, and this one is filled with warmth, humor, love and joy. I am delighted to succeed.

Producer Liam Heyen said: “I have long admired Sophie’s ability to tell intimate stories with breadth and audience appeal. It is therefore an immense privilege to work alongside him to bring JIMPA live. I strive to produce work that portrays members of the LBGTQI+ community as real, imperfect, and worthy people and to explore the contradiction that our lives have both everything and nothing to do with our gender identity or our sexuality. Matt and Sophie have crafted such a storyline with charming and complex characters and I can't wait for audiences around the world to meet them.

Adrian Politowski of Align said: “Following the wonderful collaboration we had on Good luck to you, Lion Grandewe couldn't be more thrilled to be reunited with Sophie Hyde again to bring JIMPA live. Our continued partnership with Sophie further reinforces our belief at Align that finding strong partners with important stories to tell is paramount to engaging audiences around the world.

Troy Lum of Kismet, which distributes in Australia and New Zealand, said: “We are delighted to participate in JIMPA. We fell in love with the storyline filled with pathos, heartbreak and joy. We know Sophie will do an incredible job and we can't wait to bring JIMPA At the movie theater.”

An exciting team of key Australian creatives have come together around the film, including cinematographer Matthew Chuang ACS (Of an age), production designer Bethany Ryan (You won't be alone), editor Bryan Mason (Good luck to you, Lion Grande), costume designer Renate Henschke (Animals) and hair and makeup stylist Jen Rossiter (The new boy). Casting is done by renowned casting director Nikki Barrett CGA of Barrett Casting (The power of the dog), with Dutch casting by Susanne Groen of Groen Casting.

Production credit: JIMPA is a production of Closer Films, Mad Ones Films and Viking Film. Major production investment from Screen Australia and Align with support from the Dutch Film Fund and the Dutch Film Production Incentive. Funded in association with the Finnish Impact Film Fund, Aurora Studios, Cinart, The South Australian Film Corporation, Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund and Mind The Gap Film Finance. Additional financing provided by Kojo, Closer Films and Mad Ones Films. ANZ distribution by Kismet and The Unquiet Collective, and Cinart distributes to the Benelux region. International sales by Protagonist Pictures and CAA for North America. Developed with assistance from Screen Australia and the South Australian Film Corporation.

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