A movie starring an oscar-winning star which filmed in the North East will be releasing this weekend.

New film The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which features Oscar winning actor Jim Broadbent, will be coming to theatres this Friday (April 26).

The cast (including Broadbent) and production crews were spotted using Pathfinder House, in Northgate, Darlington to film last year.

The actor will be playing the titular character Harold Fry in the movie based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Joyce, who also wrote the screenplay.

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The Northern Echo:

The film will follow Harold as he walks from Kingsbridge in Devon to Berwick Upon Tweed in Northumberland tafter learning his friend, Queenie, is dying.

It also stars Penelope Wilton, who has had roles in Downton Abbey and cult classic Shaun of the Dead, who portrays Harold's wife Maureen.

Film buffs in the North East and North Yorskhire will be able to spot some familiar locations such as Darlington, Harrogate, South Stainey, Skipton-On-Swale, and Northallerton.

Darlington-born assistant location manager Stuart Wharton, thanked the staff at Pathfinder House in Darlington in 2021 for their help filming.

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The Northern Echo:

He said: “On behalf of all the cast and crew from Rose Pine Productions, I would like to say a huge thank you to the staff at Pathfinder House.

“We hired Pathfinder House while we filmed some scenes from our new feature film ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’.

"It was a great place for our cast and crew to relax and eat between shooting. The staff were very welcoming and the building has loads of rooms and space that would work for a lot of different events.

“As a Darlington native, it was a pleasure to bring a feature film there, and with more help from people and places like Pathfinder House, more things could hopefully film there in the future.”

The movie has been directed by BAFTA winner Hettie McDonald whose previous projects include Howards End and Normal People.

The book was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and won the UK National Book Award for the New Writer of the Year.

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Adding to this, it was the UK’s bestselling book from a new novelist in 2021.

It has sold over 6 million copies worldwide.

The film will release in cinemas in the UK and Ireland from Friday (April 28).