Carey Mulligan taps into her off-screen rock roots with lively indie,”The Ballad of Wallis Island.”
Mulligan, who is married to Mumford & Sons founder Marcus Mumford, plays a musician in the Focus feature. The official synopsis reads: “‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’ follows Charles (Tim Key), an eccentric lottery winner who lives alone on a remote island and dreams of reuniting his favorite musicians, McGwyer Mortimer (Tom Basden and Mulligan). His fantasy turns into reality when his bandmates and former lovers accept his invitation to play a private show at his home on Wallis Island. Old tensions resurface as Charles desperately tries to save his dream gig.”
Sian Clifford and Akemnji Ndifornyen round out the cast.
“Here We Go” sitcom star Basden and Key co-wrote the feature and also star in the Focus Features release. James Griffiths directs the comedy, which takes place on the fictional, titular Welsh island.
Rupert Majendie is producing filmwith Mulligan, Griffiths, Basden and Key executive producing. Mulligan will next star in season 2 of “Beef” alongside Oscar Isaac, Charles Melton, Cailee Spaeny, Yuh-Jung Youn and Song Kang-Ho. She has had a string of Netflix projects recently, appearing in both “Spaceman” and “Maestro” for the platform.
“The Ballad of Wallis Island” will have its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2025 screening on January 25 in the premiere section. Additional Sundance credits in that program include “All That’s Left of You,” “April & Amanda,” “Come See Me in the Good Light,” “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley,” “Jimpa,” “Last Days,” The Librarians”, Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (produced by Josh Safdie and starring Rose Byrne, A$AP Rocky and Conan O’Brien), and Bill Condon’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” , led by Jennifer Lopez.
“The films are emotional,” Sundance Program Director Kim Yutani told IndieWireand particularly cites “The Ballad of Wallis Island” as a beloved palette cleanser. “They’re intense, but then they’re also balanced by those films that are lighter, like ‘The Ballad of Wallis Island.’ So it’s always looking at what we have and creating the balance through a curated program.”
“The Ballad of Wallis Island” opens March 28 in limited theaters. Check out the trailer below.
