Sean Bean is adding his voice to a glorious film that flies the flag for the county and launches to the world on Yorkshire Day
When you’re a film-making duo in the midst of a pandemic, what’s to be done with your camera and a surplus of creativity?
‘We spent six weeks on gardening leave and the community spirit captivated me’, says Sid.
Instead, the pair, who were school pals in Bradford and have worked on movies including The Hobbit, garnered their energies, interest and passion for Yorkshire into a project that has snowballed in the past two years and which will have its moment at a premiere in Leeds on Yorkshire Day, August 1.
Not forgetting the Bean factor. Who else do you get to narrate a film that shouts about the splendour of Yorkshire?
Sean Bean, who is of course known for The Lord of The Rings, GoldenEye and Time was happy to participate in the project having chatted to Sid and Scott who bring their own film-making credibility to the project following the success of their film Scott and Sid which won Best British Film in 2019.
‘It was fantastic to have Sean on board – he is a proper legend,’ says Sid.
‘When you met someone like that you hope they will be like you imagine. By his characters you might expect him to be brash and rough and ready but he is sensitive, quietly spoken and a nice guy – we had a good rapport.’
They worked with the actor for five hours in remote studios, capturing the voice to fit the soaring film photography that gives the film a mighty impact.
And it was emotional, admits Sid.
‘Sean said the first line of the script and Scott and I just looked at each other and fist bumped. We knew this was going to be something special.
‘Sean was our first choice for narrator. Being a Yorkshire man himself with an iconic Yorkshire accent, not to mention his role as ‘King of the North’ in Game of Thrones, there was just no one better for the job.
‘It’s been a huge honour to work with him on this project as it’s clear it means just as much to him to champion his home county as it does to us.’
The idea of creating the short film is for it to act as a ‘calling card’ for local councils, businesses. ‘and anyone else in the region’, to use to promote all that is great about Yorkshire, ‘and why we believe it is the best place for people to visit, live and invest,’ adds Sid. They have invested their own money in Project Yorkshire and received support from local councils, including Scarborough. LeedsKirklees, Bradford, Hull and East Riding, Harrogate and Calderdale, as well as the North Yorkshire Growth Hub and Marketing Humber.
‘We wanted to create more than just another ‘tourism advert or business investment video’ though, so we contacted some of our associates in the industry, including Hollywood composers, storytellers and writers to collaborate with us,’ says Sid.
‘We have always been extremely proud to be from Yorkshire and we often ‘fly the flag’ for the county when we’re on set at other locations across the globe. When the news started reporting on the devastating impact the lockdown was having on local businesses and the economy, we knew that someone needed to step up to help our county, our residents and businesses, to emerge stronger.
Appropriately, the film premieres on Yorkshire Day, August 1 at Everyman Cinema in Leeds. After that the duo hope businesses across Yorkshire will get on board, share the film to millions of people – and let it shout loud for Yorkshire.
