Simon Callow is returning to the director’s chair after more than three decades! The Cinemaholic has learned that the English actor-filmmaker is set to helm ‘About a Bell’ next. The project will enter production in May 2025 in South Wales, United Kingdom. Derek Lister wrote the screenplay. The plot revolves around Sami, a Syrian refugee, and Bryony, a young librarian, who come together on a deeply personal mission—to preserve a bell from a torn-down church.
The movie is Callow’s first feature film as a director since 1991. He made his directorial debut with ‘The Ballad of the Sad Café,’ starring Vanessa Redgrave and Keith Carradine. As a writer, he has been relatively inactive, with his most recent screenplay being the 2018 one-man televisual extravaganza ‘A Christmas Carol,’ narrated by the actor himself. Prior to that, he wrote the screenplay for ‘Orson Welles Over Europe,’ in which he appeared as the presenter.
Callow is also a celebrated author, having written biographies on Oscar Wilde, Richard Wagner, Charles Laughton, and Orson Welles. He further compiled ‘Shakespeare on Love,’ an anthology of Shakespearean excerpts, and contributed to Cambridge’s ‘Actors on Shakespeare’ series.
Regarding his acting career, Callow was part of the cast of the Academy Award-winning period drama ‘Shakespeare in Love,’ portraying Sir Edmund Tilney, Master of the Revels, alongside Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow. His other notable credits include Emanuel Schikaneder in ‘Amadeus,’ Reverend Mr. Beebe in ‘A Room with a View,’ Gareth in ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral,’ and Gilles André in ‘The Phantom of the Opera.’ Callow also played the character of Codringher in Netflix’s ‘The Witcher.’
Callow’s most recent projects include ‘The Holiday List,’ in which he played Samuel alongside Brittany Snow and Lucas Bravo. He also appeared as Cozimo in the Irish TV series ‘The Boy That Never Was,’ starring Colin Morgan and Toni O’Rourke. His upcoming acting projects include Naomi Scott and Kit Harington-starrer ‘Eternal Return’ and the Prime Video series ‘Étoile.’
South Wales recently served as a backdrop for several notable productions. In 2023, Michael Sheen shot ‘The Way’ extensively in Port Talbot, Swansea, and Abergavenny. Additionally, the upcoming Disney+ series ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’ filmed scenes in Barry and Atlantic Wharf in 2024.
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