Birmingham’s Lickey Hills will feature in the inspiring film about a Black Country hero. Dave Heeley immortalised himself as the first blind man to run seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. Now his incredible true story has been told on the big screen.
Producer Martin Nigel Davy has turned the story of Blind Dave into a feature length film, 7 Days, which was premiered at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on February 1. The 45-minute flick was shot on location in Birmingham’s Lickey Hills area, tells the inspirational tale of how West Bromwich Albion fan Dave battled to overcome his disability to take on one of the toughest challenges on the planet.
Directed by Ian and Dominic Higgins of Pixel Revolution Films, the film sees theatre actor Jack Lane taking on the role of Dave. Casualty and Doctors actress Sarah Manners plays Dave’s wife Debbie. Harry Potter stars James and Oliver Phelps (who played Fred and George Weasley in the blockbuster movie franchise) also appear in the film. Also appearing is TV newscaster Suzanne Virdee and Stourbridge actress Amanda Edwards.
Director Ian Higgins said: “Dave’s story is so inspiring – it was an absolute honour to bring it to the screen. The word celebrity today is one that is bandied around too freely, but with Dave we have a life that is truly worth celebrating. That’s exactly what we intended to do with the film.”
Co-director Dominic added: “There’s a moment in the film when Dave says ‘blindness has taught me another way to see the world’. That sums up the story we wanted to tell. Dave’s blindness has taken away his ability to look out into the world, but he’s gained the ability to look inwards, to find that toughness, that iron will that’s there deep down inside him somewhere. That’s what’s so inspiring about Dave’s story and it’s a message we hope will resonate with all audiences.”
Producer Nigel added: “It wasn’t because of what Dave’s done – it’s because of who he is; that’s why we made the film. We were a bit overwhelmed with the reaction. We can’t wait to put it out on public release which hopefully will be in the first week of May.”
Source: www.worcesternews.co.uk
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