Typist Artist Pirate King - What We Know So Far

A new film from BAFTA-nominated director Carol Morley promises insight, awe, and intrigue in the life of an overlooked artist. Based on the real life of typist and artist Audrey Amiss, Morley's unique film is a figurative cruise through Amiss' many odd adventures, as well as her mental health struggles. Entitled "Typist, Artist, Pirate, King," the film is named after the occupation listed in Amiss' passport.

It's a compelling concept if you're interested in character studies, especially ones about people that actually exist. Furthermore, with a crack team of award-winning talents behind it, "Typist, Artist, Pirate, King" seems like it could be as exciting and adventurous as its title implies. The premise and cast alone, which includes multiple other BAFTA nominees, make it worthy of putting on our radar for future awards show predictions. Here is everything that we know so far about the upcoming film "Typist, Artist, Pirate, King."

At the current moment, "Typist, Artist Pirate, King" has no confirmed release date. According to Deadline, the film has only recently begun production during the first week of November 2021. Metro International is handling sales for the film and has posted it on this year's virtual American Film Market.

Based on this, it is especially difficult to estimate when "Typist, Artist, Pirate, King" may be released. While production and post-production for the film may take a year or more, securing a distribution deal may extend that period by an unknown amount of time. Considering that this project comes from a BAFTA-nominated filmmaker, however, it is likely that "Typist, Artist, Pirate, King" will not be waiting for a distribution deal for long. Writer and director Carol Morley previously directed the documentary "Dreams of Life" as well as the 2014 film "The Falling" starring Maisie Williams and Florence Pugh (via IMDb).

"Typist, Artist, Pirate, King" has been a project already five years in the making. Morley has been musing about the life of Audrey Amiss in articles since 2016 (via The Guardian), after she discovered the artist's posthumously-donated belongings at a Wellcome charity.

So far, three stars have been pegged to join in "Typist, Artist, Pirate, King." The first is actor Monica Dolan, known for her roles in 2015's "Eye in the Sky" and, more recently, 2021's "The Dig." She is joined by Golden Globe-nominee Kelly MacDonald ("Boardwalk Empire," "No Country For Old Men") and Gina McKee ("Notting Hill," "Phantom Thread"). Two of the three actors, Dolan and McKee, have won awards from the British Academy for Film and Television Arts, while Macdonald has only been a BAFTA nominee.

Given the film's BAFTA-heavy pedigree, "Typist, Artist, Pirate, King" will almost certainly feature a variety of strong performances. Unfortunately, the filmmakers have not revealed the cast's respective roles. Additionally, aside from Audrey Amiss herself, the film's promotional material only mentions one other character — Audrey's psychiatric nurse who accompanies her on a road trip home.

Audrey Amiss was an odd person, to say the least. However, based on the belongings she left behind, she wouldn't have preferred it any other way. As a child she displayed a keen artistic talent, and even won a scholarship to the prestigious Royal Academy in London (via The Guardian). After dropping out due to mental health issues, however, Amiss lived the rest of her life as an adventurous, albeit unrecognized artist.

Through hundreds of letters, diary entries, and works of art that were donated by her family, Carol Morley uncovered the story of a lovably eccentric artist who nonetheless struggled deeply with mental illness. "Typist, Artist, Pirate, King" looks to capture Amiss' amazingly interesting, often heart wrenching persona on film through the lens of a road movie.

The film itself is not directly based on a single event from Amiss' life, and instead an "imaginary trip" that serves as a compilation of different moments detailed in the real Amiss' belongings. The trip itself takes the form of an actual road trip (via The Film Catalogue), wherein Amiss and her psychiatric nurse travel to "where her story began" in a "last-ditch mission to get recognition for her talent."