The local premiere of The Outrun, the biggest film to hit Orkney in generations, will be a star-studded event and the opportunity to see the film a week before its official release. Based on the best-selling memoir by author Amy Liptrot, The Outrun was filmed on location around the Orkney mainland and Papay in 2022, and features many familiar faces and places.
Tickets for the Phoenix Cinema's screenings will go on sale at 12noon on Monday 16 September, both for the Orkney Premiere on Saturday 21 September, and for standard screenings of the film from 27 September, when STUDIOCANAL will release the film across the UK and Ireland on general release.
The Orkney Premiere will include two screenings of the film on the evening of Saturday 21 September – an invite-only screening for those who were involved in making the film and guests, followed by a public screening at 9:30pm for which tickets will be available for sale.
Both screenings will include an introduction from the film’s star Saoirse Ronan, writer Amy Liptrot and producer Dominic Norris.
“We are delighted to be hosting such a prestigious, star-studded event here,” said James Linklater, the Pickaquoy Centre’s Managing Director. “The excitement for this has been building ever since the film was announced, and I know our community can’t wait to see Orkney depicted on the big screen in such a high-profile feature.”
The Outrun has been adapted by Nora Fingscheidt, the multiple award-winning director of System Crasher, in collaboration with Amy Liptrot. Alongside four-time Oscar® nominee Saoirse Ronan as Rona, the cast includes Emmy nominee Paapa Essiedu, BAFTA winner Stephen Dillane and Saskia Reeves.
After a decade away in London, 29-year-old Rona returns home to the Orkney Islands. Sober but lonely, she tries to suppress her memory of the events which set her on this journey of recovery. Slowly the beauty and lore of the land enters her inner world and – one day at a time – Rona finds hope and strength in herself among the heavy gales and the bracingly cold sea.
Victoria Rhodes, Phoenix Cinema Manager, said. “The Outrun is the film we have been asked most about over the past year, and I’m thrilled to finally be able to show it in our cinema. Like many people in Orkney, and around the world, I’ve been a fan of Amy’s book since it was published in 2016 and I can’t wait to see this interpretation of her remarkable story on the big screen.”
Tickets to the Orkney Premiere event cost £19.50, which includes one free welcome drink in the Picky Café bar before the film, and will be limited to 4 tickets per booking. The café bar will be open before both screenings, serving a selection of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, so that guests can mingle before the film.
There will also be a chance to win tickets to the Orkney Premiere – watch out for a competition running on both the Phoenix Cinema and Pickaquoy Centre Facebook pages early next week (with a pair of tickets up for grabs on each).
Following the premiere event, The Outrun will be screening in the Phoenix Cinema from 27 September – 10 October, with 2-3 screenings per day and tickets at standard prices. The film has been rated by the BBFC as Cert. 15, and the running time is 1 hr 57 mins.
Tickets for all screenings will be available online, and from the Pickaquoy Centre’s reception in person and over the phone from 12noon on 16 September. Full details of the film and screening times can be found on the Pickaquoy Centre website: https://www.pickaquoy.co.uk/cinema/whats-on/