Principal photography begins on 'Tornado' starring Tim Roth

Production has begun in Scotland on John Maclean's survival thriller Tornado.

The announcement comes alongside news that Tim Roth has joined the cast, with HanWay Films on board for sales per an exclusive at our sister site Screen.

Roth joins Slow Horses' Jack Lowden, Giri/Haji’s Takehiro Hira, and model-songwriter Koki who plays the titular Tornado. 

Set against rugged 1790s Britain, Tornado, a determined young woman, finds herself caught in a perilous situation when she and her father’s travelling puppet Samurai show cross paths with a gang of ruthless criminals. Led by Sugarman (played by Roth) and his ambitious son, Little Sugar (Lowden), the gang murders Tornado's father setting her on a path of vengeance and survival.

Tornado is produced by Leonora Darby, James Harris and Mark Lane from leading UK genre outfit Tea Shop Productions. Maclean also writes, based on a story by Maclean and Kate Leys. Robbie Ryan, who has been nominated for a Bafta for cinematography for his work on Poor Things, is the director of photography.

Executive producers include Ashland Hill’s Joe Simpson, Simon Williams, Andy Wang and Matthew Chausse.

The film was developed with the support of the BFI, and received production funding from Screen Scotland, both awarding National Lottery funding, and is financed by Ashland Hill Media Finance.