North Star (2023 film)

North Star is a 2023 British drama film that marks the directorial debut of Kristin Scott Thomas from her own screenplay, co-written with John Micklethwait. It stars Scott Thomas, along with Scarlett Johansson, Freida Pinto, Sienna Miller and Emily Beecham. It premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2023.

Synopsis
Three sisters return to their family home to attend the wedding of their twice widowed mother Diana. All three sisters have had different life experiences, with Georgina being a palliative nurse, whilst Victoria is an actress, and Katherine is a captain in the Royal Navy.

Production
In June 2022 it was revealed that Johansson and Scott Thomas were working together on a new film that was set to be Scott Thomas first directing role. That same month Miller, Pinto and Beecham were added to the cast. Filming of a wedding took place on location in Hampshire at St. Mary's Church, Ashley and on parts of The Grange Hampshire estate near Alresford in June 2022 whilst Johansson was reported to be filming naval scenes on HMS Prince of Wales in Portsmouth.

Principal photography was reported as being completed by the end of July 2022, with Scott Thomas being quoted as saying she found the experience "exhilarating" and that it was "thrilling to create this fictional family using my own childhood memories as a springboard." The film marks the third time Scott Thomas and Johansson have played mother and daughter, following The Horse Whisperer (1998) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).