MERCURY STUDIOS’ PRESENTS DIGITAL WORLD PREMIERE OF “MARS,”
AN ORIGINAL SCRIPTED SHORT FILM FROM YUNGBLUD
WITH PANEL DISCUSSION HOSTED BY GLAAD
ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2022
MERCURY STUDIOS PREMIERES “MARS” TRAILER
LONDON (October 20, 2022) — To celebrate Spirit Day (https://www.glaad.org/spiritday), during which millions will wear purple in a stand against bullying and in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth, Mercury Studios announced today that MARS, the short film inspired by British music artist Yungblud’s (Dominic Harrison) song of the same title (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BMA171qWYZk), will make its digital world premiere via www.moment.co/mars on Thursday, November 17, 2022 during Trans Awareness Week (https://www.glaad.org/transweek). The digital world premiere event will include an introduction by Yungblud and star Yasmin Finney, a screening of the 21-minute film, and a panel discussion hosted by GLAAD.
Written by Chris Bush (“Standing at the Sky’s Edge,” “Faustus: That Damned Woman”) and directed by Abel Rubinstein, MARS is a frank and funny scripted short of self-discovery set in the north of England, that follows a day in the life of Charlie Acaster (Finney). All Charlie has ever wanted is a regular teenage existence – at least that’s what she thinks. Now one extraordinary night will make her reassess what truly matters. Shot in November 2021 in Blackpool, UK, MARS also features a supporting cast of new and emerging talent as Charlie’s friends and peers, including Leah Choudhry as Maisie and Pete MacHale as Pete. The production committed to securing on and off-screen talent from the trans, non-binary and wider LGBTQ+ community.
A link to the never-before-seen trailer may be found here: https://youtu.be/rA04aa8a_ZA
Film still: https://umusic.box.com/s/phbms0p9uelt3gbnsenaga624ngahji9
Photo credit: Mercury Studios
Cast ID (left to right): Leah Choudhry, Yasmin Finney
Universal Music Group’s Mercury Studios, a multi-faceted content studio, produces MARS in conjunction with Interscope Films. Cat Marshall, Stefan Demetriou and Yungblud, credited in this role as Dominic Harrison, serve as producers. 19-year-old Yasmin Finney, who made her screen debut in the lead role of Elle Argent in Netflix’s hit LGBTQIA+ series “Heartstopper” and was recently announced as a lead guest in the 60th anniversary special of the BBC “Doctor Who” series, stars. Written by Chris Bush and directed by Abel Rubinstein, the film premiered at the London Film Festival on Saturday, October 15, 2022. Mercury Studios will handle global sales.
“I’m so honoured to present you our beautiful film MARS, Yungblud/Dominic Harrison states. “I believe this is the start of something truly groundbreaking and truly special. This all came from the idea that we could facilitate bringing characters to life by assembling a team of cast and crew that fully represent the communities whose stories we wanted to tell. We set out to bring talented creatives together, some experienced, some whose star was already rising and some who’d never been on a film set before. Giving people a platform to tell their stories with truth and integrity means so much to me and I feel that’s what we’ve achieved with this film. The love and friendship and warmth I felt being around this beautiful team was a hugely powerful experience and I truly feel gives a little glimpse into the lives of young people.”
“MARS is a film that is as equally beautiful as it is heartfelt and it’s surely a story to which queer people, namely trans and non-binary youth, will feel a strong connection,” Anthony Allen Ramos, Vice President of Communications & Talent, GLAAD says. “Yasmin Finney is a previous GLAAD “20 Under 20” honoree and it’s wonderful to see her continue to pursue artistic ventures that also celebrate queer people and tell interesting, authentic stories.”
Moment will host the digital world premiere of MARS on Thursday, November 17, 2022 at the times listed below.
Tickets (US $10 + fees, with US$1 of every sale going to GLAAD) are on sale now via www.moment.co/mars
· UK/Europe/Africa – 9PM GMT
· North and South America – 9PM EST
· North and South America – 9PM PST
Moment will also host the digital world premiere on Friday, November 18, 2022 as listed below:
· Asia/Australia – 9PM JST/AEDT
ABOUT MERCURY STUDIOS
Mercury Studios is a full-service production studio originating, producing, selling, distributing, and investing in scripted, unscripted, and live content. Editorially independent, Mercury Studios is powered by Universal Music Group and represents the world’s leading catalogue of music-related content.
Current projects include If These Walls Could Sing, the untold story of the world-famous Abbey Road Studios, directed by celebrated British photographer and filmmaker Mary McCartney for Disney+; Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop, a feature documentary from Oscar-winning director/producer Joseph Patel (Summer of Soul), adapted from Vikki Tobak’s best-selling book; “My Life as a Rolling Stone,” a four-part docuseries of intimate portraits of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts and Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl, a career documentary about the superstar that is available on Netflix; and Mars.
Mercury Studios’ Miles Davis: Birth of The Cool was recently honored with two Emmys for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary and Outstanding Sound. ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band from Texas also received a 2021 Grammy Award nomination for Best Music Film. The feature documentaries are part of the Mercury Studios library, consisting of nearly 2,000 hours of programming.
ABOUT GLAAD
GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD
protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org or connect with GLAAD on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
