Deal signed with studio to create Sunderland’s first ever feature film

A deal has been signed with a local film studio to create, fundraise and oversee marketing for Sunderland’s first ever feature film, “The North Star“

The agreement, between Sunderland Global Media (SGM) and New Enterprise Studios (NES), will see the studio formally take up and manage the picture as their own project and subsequently begin to assemble the foundations, while overseeing its marketing, investment and fundraising.

The firm, opened in 2021, is based in Southwick, and has hit the ground running for its support for projects such as Monday Blues and winning funding to create a documentary on the Shields Ferries of the River Tyne.

If accomplished, the North Star will be the first ever epic-fantasy adventure film ever set in Sunderland and the North East of England, a premise which is revolutionary for the region.

A screenplay was written in 2022, which has since undergone numerous rounds of editing and consultation. The studio has already held in person auditions for some of the main characters, with other roles receiving scores of local applicants.

The North Star tells the story of Sunderland girl Sophie Scott, who finds herself anointed to become an ancient hero in the face of a new evil threatening the region, which combines realism, commentary on the city and its people into an epic coming of age saga.

Sunderland Global Media would also like to thanks to Gabriel Brown of Terabithia Pictures, a studio based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, for his additional consultancy, editing and support towards the project.