Cannes: Ben Kingsley to Play Salvador Dali in 'Dali Land'

Lesley Manville, Tim Roth and Frank Dillane co-star in Mary Harron's biopic, which Bankside Films is selling worldwide.

Oscar winner Ben Kingsley has signed on to play surrealist painter Salvador Dali in Mary Harron's Dali Land.

Lesley Manville will play Dali's domineering wife and muse, Gala, in the biopic. Tim Roth and Frank Dillane co-star.

Bankside Films is handling worldwide sales on the film and will present it to buyers in Cannes next week.

Harron, who co-wrote the screenplay to Dali Land with John C. Walsh, is fresh off helming Netflix's award-winning drama Alias Grace and recently wrapped Charlie Says, starring Matt Smith, a feature about the Manson family women.

The Canadian director is perhaps best known for American Psycho and I Shot Andy Warhol.

Dali Land was developed by Edward R. Pressman of Pressman Film, a producer on American Psycho, and entrepreneur David O. Sacks, who previously partnered on Jason Reitman’s Thank You For Smoking. Dali Land is set to shoot in Canada and Spain in November/December 2018.

Christina Piovesan in Toronto and Charlotte and Philip Colbert of Popcorn Films in London will serve as producers, with Pressman, Sacks, Daniel Brunt, Jon Katz, Hannah Leader, Michael R. Newman and Sam Pressman executive producing.