The Scottish Highlands, 1856: A destitute young woman fleeing towards an uncertain future. Two disparate lovers who learn the dark secrets of her past. And a land about to explode in a desperate class struggle that will change their – and our – world forever. NOVA SCOTIA is an epic love story and the first film to be set against the tragedy of the Highland Clearances. British actress Romola Garai, who received international acclaim for her role in the Oscar®-winning ATONEMENT, will star in this provocative drama directed by award-winning filmmaker Hettie Macdonald (BEAUTIFUL THING, WHITE GIRL) from an original screenplay by Stef Penney, whose first novel THE TENDERNESS OF WOLVES was recently named both Costa Book Of The Year and Theakston Crime Novel Of The Year. Margaret Matheson will produce the film, a story of oppression, compassion and the refugee experience that echoes throughout history to present day.

NOVA SCOTIA is set at the peak of the Clearances, where beautiful yet damaged Lucy Hay (Garai) is brought from an Edinburgh asylum to the highland estate of her wealthy landowner cousin. Here, Lucy will soon find herself torn between her passion for the man who saved her, her empathy for the increasingly beaten-down crofters, and the shocking ‘arrangement’ that thrusts her into a struggle for her own survival. For a woman whose strength comes at cruel cost, can lovers from both sides of the conflict become her only chance for redemption? And in a land that condones heartless betrayal, will dignity be the only thing left worth fighting for?

The Highland Clearances remains one of the most shameful episodes in Scottish history, resulting in the near-decimation of the Gaelic culture as well as a diaspora that reshaped global society. Beginning in the late 18th century, Scotland’s wealthy landowners began forcibly evicting their long-time tenants – with whom they shared a name – to make way for more profitable sheep. Entire townships were burned to the ground, and refugees were relocated to barren regions where famine and disease further decimated the clans. Hundreds of thousands more fled to North America, where they settled a significant portion of Canada. In the end, over a million and a half Scots were ripped from their ancestral homes, leaving the ruins of thousands of villages which are still visible today.