The documentary is narrated by Liam Neeson, Maxine Peake, Nick Cave, Ruth Negga and Stephen Graham.
It has been announced that Irvine Welsh: Reality Is Not Enough will have its world premiere this August at the closing night of the Edinburgh International Film Festival on the 20th August.
From award-winning documentary filmmaker Paul Sng (Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché, Tish) Irvine Welsh: Reality Is Not Enough offers an insight into the mind of the artist at work and play.
Irvine Welsh is at a crossroads. After experiencing the huge success of several film adaptations and six million books sold worldwide, he has become acutely aware of his own mortality. Now, with his hedonistic days drawing to a close, the outspoken author decides to explore the boundaries of consciousness through a psychedelic DMT trip.
Through this unique lens, join Welsh on a brutally honest examination of his life: how his creativity was fostered by his childhood in Edinburgh; the influences he gained living amongst 70’s London counterculture; and how groundbreaking work such as Trainspotting and Filth pulled him out of a self-destructive cycle, but also led him to heights of fame he never could have imagined. And still one burning question remains – what will come next?
The documentary blends intimate observational footage with readings from his novels narrated by Liam Neeson (Taken, Batman Begins, Star Wars), Maxine Peake (The Theory of Everything, Shameless), musician Nick Cave, Ruth Negga (Ad Astra, Passing) and Stephen Graham (Adolescence, The Irishman).
On choosing the Edinburgh International Film Festival for the World Premiere of Irvine Welsh: Reality Is Not Enough, Director Paul Sng remarked “Irvine Welsh has remained an urgent and compelling voice in literature and film since the day he was first published. It’s been a joy and a pleasure working with one of the great storytellers of our time and we’re chuffed to launch the film in Edinburgh at this year’s EIFF.”