Bill Nighy and Makram J. Khoury to Star in ‘A Town in Nova Scotia’ From ‘Fremont’ Director Babak Jalali (EXCLUSIVE)

Production on Babak Jalali‘s next feature “A Town in Nova Scotia” is now underway.

Bill Nighy (“Living,” “About Time”) leads the cast as Leon, a widowed man living in a block of council flats in Liverpool. Makram J Khoury (“Munich,” “The Master and Margarita”) plays his best friend Saleh. Shooting commenced in and around the city of Liverpool earlier this month.

“A Town in Nova Scotia” marks the fifth feature from Iranian-British director Jalali, best known for “Radio Dreams,” which won the top honor at the Rotterdam Film Festival in 2016, and “Fremont,” which premiered in Sundance in 2023, landed a British Independent Film Award nomination and earned him the John Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirit Awards 2024.

The film was co-written with Carolina Cavalli (“Amanda,” “The Kidnapping of Arabella”) who collaborated with Jalali on “Fremont.”

“A Town in Nova Scotia” is being produced by Naïma Abed and Émilie Georges for Paradise City, and Jennifer Monks for The Fold. The film is financed by BBC Film, BFI (awarding National Lottery funding), Liverpool Film Office (through the LCR Production Fund), Calculus, Hoopsa Films and Desmar.

Executive Producers are Kristin Irving for BBC Film, Ama Ampadu for the BFI, Christopher Moll for Liverpool Film Office, Sonny Gill and Peter O’Leary for Hoopsa Films, Naomi Despres and Michèle Marshall for Desmar, Brad Noel and Mariyah Dosani for Calculus. The film was developed with BBC Film.

Further creatives on the feature include production designer Paulina Rzeszowska (“Saint Maud,” “Censor”), cinematographer Crystel Fournier (“Great Freedom, Chiara”), costume designer Jessica Schofield (“Adolescence,” “Boiling Point”), hair and makeup designer Caroline Rose (“Everybody’s Talking about Jamie,” “Meat Raffle”), and BAFTA winning casting director Lucy Pardee (“Aftersun,” “Rocks).

Nighy is represented by Independent Talent Group, UTA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandlebaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein and Public Eye Communications. Khoury is represented by Paul Becker. Babak Jalali is represented by Independent Talent Group, CAA and Cinetic.