Fiennes opts for the director's cut

by BAZ BAMIGBOYE, Daily Mail

Last updated at 11:14 30 September 2005


Ralph Fiennes is to make his screen directorial debut. In a sense, he's following in the footsteps of his sisters, Martha and Sophie, both of whom are noted film-makers.

He intends to begin filming the movie Snow Country on locations in Canada in 2007.

The star was persuaded to work behind the camera by Simon Channing-Williams, the producer of Fiennes's forthcoming film The Constant Gardener, which is based on John le Carre's novel.

It will open the Times bfi London Film Festival on October 19.

Fiennes and leading lady Rachel Weisz are likely to garner Oscar nominations for their roles.

Snow Country will be based on an original script by Nicholas Rohl. It's about a 17-year-old Inuit girl in a convent in northern Canada.

However, Fiennes has much to do in other quarters before he can turn his attention full time to the film.

In the new year, he will lead Jonathan Kent's production of Brian Friel's play Faith Healer, which runs at Dublin's Gate Theatre and at the Booth in New York.

It's rumoured that Cherry Jones, a much-acclaimed American actress, will join Fiennes on Broadway.

Also, Ian McDiarmid is hoping to repeat the extraordinary performance he gave in the play when it ran at the Almeida threeanda-half years ago.

The play's producers, Sonia Friedman and Michael Colgan, are surely hoping Faith Healer will move to London but, sadly, there's no chance of that happening.

The rest of this year is already mapped out for Fiennes. He films Bernard And Doris with Susan Sarandon and then he'll be around for the openings of The Constant Gardener, Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire and the Merchant Ivory film The White Countess - another potential Oscar contender.

It was Ismail Merchant's last film.

He died in May and Fiennes will be among those paying tribute to him at a memorial service planned for November 18 at the Curzon cinema in Mayfair.

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