First look at Liverpool-produced ‘Amazing Grace’ with worldwide sales onboarded by Screenbound

Starring Hannah Walters (Boiling Point; A Thousand Blows; EMMY winning and BAFTA nominated Adolescence), alongside scouser Daniel P. Lewis (Our Kid) as Walter, a man on the brink of suicide and deeply isolated who forms an unexpected bond with a crisis helpline volunteer who helps him confront the childhood abuse, addiction, and shame he has spent a lifetime trying to survive.

Directed by Ruth Carney (Shetland; Brassic) in her feature directorial debut and also written and produced by Daniel P. Lewis, Amazing Grace combines raw social realism with a restrained cinematic style, aiming to present an honest and human portrayal of emotional struggle, while ultimately offering a message of hope. Daniel has expressed how it was “really important that the film didn’t sugarcoat anything. I didn’t want to soften the edges or make it more palatable than it is. At the same time, I didn’t want to glamorise struggle either. It’s ongoing. It’s messy. It’s complicated. But within that, there are moments, sometimes very small moments, that can shift everything. That’s what I wanted to capture.”

Shot across 11 days, this British independent feature showcases the breadth of talent the sector is cultivating and the stories it can explore. Having been cast following a social media introduction, Hannah Walters has remarked on the importance of independent films “to make social commentary and by doing that they are raising a mirror to society on the issues that ordinarily you probably wouldn’t see in more financed films, but I think the subject matters that can be shown in independent films are a lot more socially grounded, in realism, in truth, in issues that are really relatable to a lot of people.”

Scouse talent joins the screen alongside Walters and Lewis, with the film featuring the BAFTA nominated duo James Nelson-Joyce (This City Is Ours; A Thousand Blows) and Sonny Walker (The Gathering; Legends), as well as Connor McIntyre, plus BAFTA Winner Chanel Cresswell (This Is England; The Gentleman) and Angela Lonsdale.

Produced by Daniel.P.Lewis, alongside Carley Armstrong with Shaun Robinson and Colin Cromby of Keystone Pictures and executive producers Dawn Tolcher and Sean O’Neil of Eryr Film.