Yardie – Principal photography begins on Idris Elba’s directorial debut

STUDIOCANAL announced today that principal photography has begun on the feature adaptation of Victor Headley’s cult novel Yardie. Golden Globe and SAG winner Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) will make his feature film directorial debut, with Aml Ameen (The Maze Runner, The Butler) starring in the lead role as ‘D’. Yardie will shoot on location in London and Jamaica for seven weeks.

Additionally, Stephen Graham (the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, This Is England, ‘Little Boy Blue’) will play the role of Rico, while Idris Elba will star as Piper. The film will introduce exciting new Jamaican talent including Shantol Jackson as Yvonne, Sheldon Shepherd as King Fox and Everaldo Creary as Jerry Dread.

YARDIE follows the story of a young Jamaican named ‘D’ (Ameen) who, on arriving in early 1980s London, unexpectedly finds the young man who assassinated his revered brother back in Jamaica ten years before. His quest for justice explodes into a violent street war that could end up killing him and his loved ones.

Idris Elba said, “I am interested in making human stories with characters that are either, full of grace or flawed. In YARDIE the audience will see a film that hopefully means something to the people. I’m honoured to able to shoot it in my home town of London and as a guest in Jamaica.”

YARDIE has been adapted for the screen by Brock Norman Brock (Bronson) and Martin Stellman (Babylon, Queen and Country). It is produced for Warp Films by Robin Gutch (’71, Hunger) and Gina Carter (Heartlands, Dead In A Week, Snow Cake).

YARDIE is financed by STUDIOCANAL, BFI, BBC Films and Screen Yorkshire. Universal Music are partners in the film and their Island Records label will be releasing the soundtrack. Executive producers are Dan MacRae and Danny Perkins for STUDIOCANAL, Mary Burke and Ben Roberts for BFI, Joe Oppenheimer for BBC Films, Hugo Heppell for Screen Yorkshire, Mark Herbert for Warp Films, and Idris Elba.







