La La Land meets Isle of Wight in Minghella Jr’s debut as a director

The late Anthony Minghella was one of Britain’s most admired film-makers, winning nine Oscars for The English Patient, the war drama he wrote and directed, inspired by Michael Ondaatje’s novel. A decade after his death, his son is following in his footsteps as a writer and director, working with the producer of La La Land, the musical that won six Oscars this year.

Actor Max Minghella is making his directorial debut with a British feature film set on the Isle of Wight, where his father’s family ran an ice-cream business. The new film, Teen Spirit, is a coming-of-age drama about a shy girl who has dreams of becoming a pop star and enters an international music competition.

Minghella wrote it with his friend Jamie Bell, the actor who won a Bafta for Billy Elliot, the story of a miner’s son who takes up ballet.

Bell is also an executive producer of Teen Spirit, whose team includes Fred Berger, producer of La La Land, which starred Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, making £343m at the box office worldwide. Berger has reassembled its music team, including music producer Marius de Vries.

Mister Smith Entertainment, which represents the films of Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners in Europe, is financing and handling international sales.

David Garrett, its founder, told the Observer that he was inspired to take on the project after meeting Minghella and realising he had a “fresh and vibrant approach” to film-making: “He has a wonderful vision of how he wants to make it.” He added: “It was the combination of Max and Fred and the La La Land music team that made it feel special.”

Minghella spent much of his childhood on film sets, appearing as an uncredited extra in his father’s American civil war epic Cold Mountain. He went on to become a professional actor, starring in films including David Fincher’s The Social Network and George Clooney’s The Ides of March. He is currently appearing in the TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale on Channel 4.

Minghella made his screenwriting debut last year on the acclaimed thriller The 9th Life of Louis Drax, which he adapted from Liz Jensen’s novel, and which was directed by horror specialist Alexandre Aja.

The lead actress in Teen Spirit is Elle Fanning, whose films include Sofia Coppola’s gothic chiller The Beguiled. In her new role, she plays an aspiring singer who dreams of escape from her shattered family life.

The film-makers describe Teen Spirit as “a visceral and uplifting story about growing up, dreaming big, and finding your voice”.

The shoot is now taking place in and around London. A unit will also go to the Isle of Wight.

Anthony Minghella’s daughter, Hannah, is also doing her father proud. She is president of TriStar Pictures, the Sony Pictures unit established to focus on literary projects. She was previously president of production for Columbia Pictures, overseeing the development and production of movies that included Skyfall, the 23rd James Bond film.