John Lithgow hopes new film Jimpa can expand people’s “consciousness” and “tolerance”.
The 80-year-old actor has been cast alongside Olivia Colman and Aud Mason-Hyde – whose mother is the movie’s director Sophie Hyde – in the new drama focused on queerness and parenthood, which had its Dutch premiere on Sunday (01.02.26) at the International Film Festivals Rotterdam (IFFR).
The film stars Lithgow as Jim, who calls himself Jimpa rather than grandpa, and left his family “to pursue a free, gay life in Amsterdam.
His daughter Hannah (Colman), her non-binary teen Frances (Mason-Hyde) and her husband played by Daniel Henshall visit Jimpa, where he encourages the teenager to explore the city’s queer culture.
There, she meets characters played by the likes of Zoe Love Smith, Hans Kesting and Romana Vrede.
During a session called Big Talk: A Queen Family Affair, Lithgow said: “You’re very grateful for those opportunities to be in a film like this, which you just feel has the possibility of expanding people’s consciousness, tolerance, acceptance of certain realities – empathetic films.
“I’ve had a long career, and I’ve done a lot of jobs, and there have only been five or six that were everything I had hoped for, just in terms of [me being] so proud to be in this film.”
Jimpa was inspired by Hyde’s own gay activist father, and Lithgow insisted the charater was “a dear man” at heart.
He added: “Especially in this kind of hothouse moment where there’s such cruelty in the world and such misuse of power over people, it’s just wonderful that there’s a film that is all about empathy and kindness
“Jimpa himself is a character who can be unwittingly cruel and thoughtless, but at heart, he’s such a dear man.”
He also had kind words for co-star Colman, hailing her “such an amazing actress”.
He said: “She has such access to her emotional life.”
Meanwhile, he thanked the Dutch people – and the Australian crew – for their hospitality.
He gushed: “All of us shared the same excitement. … The entire experience was such a party.”
Dutch actress Vrede insisted it was wonderful to be on set with Colman and Lithgow, who brought international flair to the project.
She smiled: “They were just humble and grateful about working with us.”
During the screening, producer Marleen Slot described the movie as “all about connection”, while Hyde opened up about her father, who was later diagnosed with HIV and “died when Aud was only 12”
She wished her child and father – who she described as a “very eccentric gay man” – had been able to discuss their identities and experiences.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source uk.movies.yahoo.com ’
