Oliver Hermanus’ adaptation of Ben Shattuck’s The History of Sound, starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor, has begun filming. The project was first announced in 2021.
Following his BAFTA nomination for All of Us Strangers, Paul Mescal (Foe) has begun filming The History of Sound with Josh O’Connor (The Crown) as of February 28th. Filming was originally due to begin in the summer of 2022 across the US, UK and Italy, but was put on pause due to conflicting schedules. The film is being directed by Oliver Hermanus (Living).
The History of Sound is based on Ben Shattuck’s short story of the same name. It follows two young men, Lionel (Mescal) and David (O’Connor), as they aim “to record the lives, voices and music of their countrymen” during the First World War. They are deeply changed throughout the process, and a romance blossoms.
“I instantly fell in love with Ben Shattuck’s flawlessly beautiful short story and knew I had to be involved in its journey to the screen,” said director Hermanus, speaking to Variety. “Paul and Josh are two of the most promising actors of their generation who will share with us deeply soulful performances.”
The film is being produced by Tim Haslam, Andrew Kortschak, Lisa Ciuffetti and Andrea Roa.
In a 2022 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mescal expressed his excitement to begin work on the then-postponed film, and act alongside O’Connor: “The learning for me is that I’m just dying to make films with people I like and Josh is one of those people that I would work with in a heartbeat.”
MUBI has slated the release of The History of Sound for 2025.
