The Extraordinary Miss Flower, starring Emilíana Torrini, to be released by BFI Distribution in May

Following its UK premiere in Official Competition at the BFI London Film Festival, the spellbinding biographical performance film The Extraordinary Miss Flower, directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard (20,000 Days on Earth) and starring Emilíana Torrini alongside Caroline Catz will be released in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on 9 May 2025 through BFI Distribution. Ahead of the release, the film screens at both the Dublin International Film Festival (on 28 February) and the Glasgow Film Festival (on 1 and 2 March).

The Extraordinary Miss Flower brings to life the remarkable story of Geraldine Flower and the discovery of a suitcase full of passionate, heartfelt letters of love sent to her in the 60s and 70s that inspired acclaimed Icelandic singer/songwriter Emilíana Torrini to return to the studio and record an entire album of new songs, Miss Flower (Grönland Records).

Part film, part theatre, part fever dream, The Extraordinary Miss Flower takes the form of a series of specially designed performances by Emilíana and her band, combined with dramatic scenes and readings from the letters by well-known actors and musicians. It is a collaborative and captivating creative response to an incredible story.

As well as performing 10 songs, Emilíana Torrini acts for the first time – alongside Caroline Catz (Delia Derbyshire: The Myths and Legendary Tapes) as ‘Miss Flower’. The film also features Nick Cave, Richard Ayoade, Alice Lowe, Siggi Baldursson, Mark Monero, Niall Murphy and Angus Sampson in supporting roles, plus the voice of singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Choreographer Kate Coyne (formally Michael Clark company) performs alongside Viva Seifert and Saeed Esmaeli. The band is Simon Byrt, Mara Carlyle, Liam Hutton, Ian Kellett and Lovisa Sigrunardottir.

The project started with a discovery made by Emilíana and her friends, Zoe Flower and her husband Simon. Following the passing of Zoe’s mother, they found a case of treasured letters, telexes and photographs. Delving through the case they uncovered traces of an extraordinary life full of secrets and lifelong friendships, tales of travel, adventure, and love. With her imagination fuelled by these intoxicating fragments, Emilíana embarked on a creative odyssey. Working with her long-time musical collaborator, Simon Byrt, these letters blossomed into a suite of new songs. Miss Flower is Emilíana’s first solo record for ten years, and a stunning evocation of a woman’s life, reimagined with love and artistic license by one of the most innovative artists of this era. Emilíana is a magical and magnetic storyteller, her warmth and talent are compelling. She is the central figure in this film and acts as a spellbinding theatrical embodiment of this creative endeavour.

Directors Forsyth and Pollard have worked collaboratively as artists and filmmakers since meeting at Goldsmiths in the mid-90s. Their BAFTA-nominated debut feature, 20,000 Days on Earth, is a creative documentary about Nick Cave. It premiered at Sundance in 2014, winning Directing and Editing awards. The same year, they won the Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director at the British Independent Film Awards.

Iain and Jane have been telling stories about music and with musicians for their entire career, working with artists including Scott Walker and Gil Scott-Heron. Their recent performance films include Live from the Centre of the Earth made during lockdown with Jarvis Cocker and Deep England, a unique collaboration between Gazelle Twin and the electronic drone choir, NYX. They are currently editing their next documentary which will be announced soon. Their artwork is collected by museums and institutions around the world including Tate Modern and the British Government Art Collection.

Emilíana Torrini is an Icelandic / Italian singer and songwriter who has been releasing music and touring for over twenty years, Miss Flower is her fifth solo album and came out to critical acclaim in summer 2024, following previous albums Love in the Time of Science, Fisherman’s Woman, Me and Armini and Tookah. She has also released two collaborative albums with the Colorist Orchestra. Emilíana is best known for her 2009 single Jungle Drum which was number 1 in Germany for 8 weeks and stayed in the charts for 35 weeks; the track was also number 1 in Austria and Belgium and had chart success in many other countries including Finland, Spain, Switzerland, Israel and Australia. Other tracks to give her international recognition include Sunny Road, Big Jumps and Hold Heart. Emilíana will be touring again in 2025; the first dates have already been announced with more coming soon and she will be in the UK for the film’s opening.

“We spend an outrageous amount of time thinking about new ways to hybridise music and film,” said Forsyth and Pollard. “After a chance meeting with Emilíana in Reykjavik, we knew she’d be a remarkable collaborator for a hybrid project like this. She’s spellbinding, a true raconteur with a permanent twinkle in her eye. This film is about capturing an alchemical performance, in collaboration with the camera. For us, that point of intersection is where real magic happens.” 

“Being involved with this film was a mad and riveting experience,” said Torrini. “I’ve never been on a film set like this before, and I still don’t really know what happened. I am in total awe of Zoe, Iain and Jane to pull this off in such a short time. The artists and crew were incredible and showed such a deep understanding of where these songs came from, emotionally and creatively. A huge thank you to Sam and the team at Distiller for believing in the project and supporting us.” 

The Extraordinary Miss Flower, a Distiller Studios Production in association with Anti-Worlds and Phantoscopic, is backed by Distiller Music, and was shot at Distillery II studio, near Bristol. Produced by Zoe Flower and co-produced by Andy Starke, executive producers are Sam Dyson with Ben Wheatley, Beth Earl and Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdottir. Key crew include cinematographer Erik Wilson BSC, Simon Byrt (musical director), Susie Coulthard (costume designer), Emma Rios (production designer / illustrator) and Anna Randall (hair and make-up designer).