New Irish movie getting early Oscar buzz releases first look

The film is from the same writer as Adam & Paul and Garage.

This comes after the film picked up a major award at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival last February, with several critics tipping it as a potential Oscar contender.

Primarily filmed in Cork, the biographical drama is about the legendary jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans (played by Anders Danielsen Lie - Sentimental Value, The Worst Person in the World).

Based on the novel Intermission by Owen Martell, the story follows Evans grieving the loss of his close friend and bandmate Scott LaFaro.

Watch the trailer for Everybody Digs Bill Evans:

The plot synopsis reads: "June 1961, NYC: legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans has found his musical voice and created the perfect trio, including bass player Scott LaFaro, said to be his soulmate through music.

"A residency at New York's Village Vanguard culminates in the live taping of two of the greatest jazz records of all time in one night.

"10 days later, LaFaro dies in a car crash. Numb with grief, Evans stops playing.

"Everybody Digs Bill Evans is the story of what happened next for one of the most influential and tragic figures in 20th-century music."

The real-life Bill Evans

Shot in gorgeous black-and-white, the movie was made by acclaimed documentarian and music video director Grant Gee, as well as the Irish screenwriter Mark O'Halloran (Adam & Paul, Garage).

The film's cast also includes Bill Pullman (The Sinner) and Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird) as Evans' parents, along with Barry Ward (That They May Face the Rising Sun), Katie McGrath (Jurassic World) and Valene Kane (The Fall).

Everybody Digs Bill Evans had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it earned rave reviews for its performances, its stylish direction, and its more intimate and thoughtful approach to a music biopic.

Grant Gee with his Berlin best director prize

Gee wound up taking home the best director prize at the event, while some reviewers have already tipped the drama for Oscar success in 2027.

Chief film critic at The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw, tweeted after seeing the film: "This Berlin Film Festival is full of surprises. I just saw next year’s Best Supporting Actor Oscar-winner: Bill Pullman in Everybody Digs Bill Evans."

Meanwhile, Film Ireland wrote in a review: "Pullman, in a spectacular performance, conveys an easy-going grittiness, his face constantly twitching as he basks in his son’s success.

"It’s too early in the year to call an Oscar nomination, but Pullman can certainly mark it down as one of his best pieces of work."

Valene Kane Interview

JOE recently interviewed Everybody Digs Bill Evans' Northern Irish star Valene Kane about her underrated Channel 4 thriller drama series Summerwater.

It turned out that on the same week we spoke to the actress, she was doing ADR [automated dialogue replacement] on the biographical drama.

Valene Kane

Kane told us the following about Everybody Digs Bill Evans: "I remember when I got sent that script, I said to my agent: 'I have to get this job.'

"I love Mark O'Halloran, and this script is one of the most beautiful scripts I've ever read in my life. It's so good.

"I fought and fought and fought, and finally Grant, the director, was like: 'Fine, I'll have a meeting with you, but I think you're wrong,'" Kane said, laughing.

Continuing to chuckle, she added: "Then in the meeting, he was like: 'Oh, maybe, maybe you have something.'"

Bill Pullman, Barry Ward and Valene Kane at the Berlin International Film Festival

On filming the project in Cork, the actress said: "I didn't know that there was a film studio in West Cork. I didn't know about it until I booked the gig.

Everybody Digs Bill Evans lands in Irish cinemas on 11 September.