Another New Bible Film - The Margate Exodus

Peter Chattaway has a new piece on a film currently in the latter stages of production called The Margate Exodus. As the title suggests it's a modern day version of the Exodus story set in Margate (a seaside town in Kent, England - temporary home to a large number of asylum seekers). The film's official website, calls it "a story about identity and migration". Here's a bit more of the blurb:

Immigration has never been more meaningful than it is today. Exodus begins with the Egyptians complaining about the immigrant Hebrews – there are too many of them, they’re having too many children. They are ‘the undesirables’ and a problem to get rid of.

...Nearby Dover is one of the main entry points for asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, making the area a perfect place to explore issues of identity, tolerance and social equality.

Despite not having heard anything in the UK press about this (to be honest I've not been paying that much attention), Peter has also found an article on it in The New York Times from a couple of months ago.

Margate Exodus is the result of a collaboration between Channel 4, Arts group Artangel, Creative Partnerships, Kent, and Arts Council England. Over on Artangel's website, there are a couple of press releases with a few further details. Some of those involved are fairly well known, to me at least. Anthony Gormley has created a number of high profile sculptures recently. I was disappointed to miss director Penny Woodcock's most recent film Mischief Night at the local cinema last month. My wife is a big fan of Rufus Wainwright who is one of the musical collaborators. And Pharaoh will be played by Bernard Hill, who's most successful films are from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but who is best known over here (to those of a certain age) as Yosser Hughes from Boys from the Black stuff.

The Margate Exodus is due to be released sometime in the summer 2007 both in cinemas and aired on Channel 4, although it is unclear which will come first.