'Joe's Palace' and 'Capturing Mary'

<p>Two major new screenplays by the award-winning Stephen Poliakoff<br/>made for the BBC and HBO Films and due to be broadcast in November<br/>2007. A stellar cast led by Michael Gambon and Dame Maggie Smith<br/>feature in these exquisite major new films that are linked by a grand<br/>house and memories of the past.</p><br/><p>In <i>Joe's </i>Palace<i> </i>the first of two screenplays Stephen<br/>Poliakoff explores the relationship between a reclusive billionaire<br/>(played by Michael Gambon) and the teenage boy he employs to take care<br/>of a grand house. This is a lavishly shot contemporary film about<br/>loneliness and loss. In <i>Capturing Mary</i> the companion film for<br/>BBC2 set in the same exquisite empty house Poliakoff takes his<br/>characters into a dark and terrifying exploration of the past and its<br/>power to capture and destroy a person's life. Dame Maggie Smith plays<br/>the lead role.</p><br/><p>Included also is <i>A Real Summer</i> a glorious companion drama to <i>Capturing Mary</i><br/>charting the development of an unexpected friendship between a young<br/>aristocratic woman and Mary before she enters the dangerous world of Mr<br/>Graham's house.</p>