British Council Logo UK Films Database
Project Detail

LA Without a Map

Synopsis

Richard, at 22 has his life turned upside down during a burial in Bradford cemetery, when he meets Barbara, a beautiful young actress from Los Angeles. Leaving behind his inherited undertaker's business and well-meaning girlfriend he is destined to marry, Richard crosses the Atlantic in pursuit of love, adventure and a screenwriting career. As an Englishman abroad, Richard finds himself in situations that, seen from afar, are very funny, but close-up may prove tragic.


LA Without a Map is produced by Julie Baines and Sarah Daniel of UK based Dan Films. A stylish, fast-paced dramatic comedy, the film is directed by award-winning Mika Kaurismaki who also wrote the screenplay with Richard Rayner. The screenplay is adapted from Rayner's autobiographical cult hit novel - "Los Angeles Without a Map".

Details

Year
1999
Type of project
Features
Running time
107 mins
Format
35mm Kodak
Director
Mika Kaurismaki
Producer
Deepak Nayar
Executive Producer
Deepak Nayar
Director of Photography
Michel Amathieu
Principal cast
David Tennant, Vinessa Shaw, Julie Delpy, Vincent Gallo, James Le Gros, Cameron Bancroft
Screen Writers
Richard Rayner, Mika Kaurismaki

Genre

Literary Adaptation Drama

Categories

Fiction

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Dan Films 32 Maple Street London W1P 5GD Tel: 020 7916 4771 Fax: 020 7916 4773

Sales Company

The Works 4 Great Portland Street London W1W 8QJ tel 020 7612 1080 fax 020 7612 1081

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Comic book styling, hands reaching for a diamond through lasers Unseen Diplomacy 2

Director: Katie Goode, John Campbell

Year: 2026

You're a Secret Agent during a dangerous time, Evil-doers are plotting to destroy the world. Complete missions, manage your agents & use Intel to narrow down the plot and save the Earth. Play a real-life VR obstacle course using every inch of your room - you will run, roll, sneak & hack to victory!

Action Adventure Woman Director
Two girls in maroon school uniform sit against mustard yellow lockers doing homework and sharing an orange. Lady Macbeth Was Never a Girl

Director: Francesca McBride

Year: 2026

In the grey rhythms of a 1990s British secondary school, a student begins to sense a discomfort that has no name, just a feeling that the role they’re playing doesn’t quite fit. Through a missing pair of joggers, an unexpected line from Macbeth, and the quiet rituals of uniforms, registers, and school corridors, this film traces the first flickers of identity forming - not through revelation, but recognition.

Drama History LGBTQIA+ Scottish Woman Director
A girl and a woman talk with a view of a beach and the sea behind them. Murmur

Director: Jonathan Blagrove

Year: 2026

After years apart, a young girl and her estranged mother reunite for a supervised seaside visit. Eight-year-old Emily is taken by her Nana, Jo, and Shaniece (a social worker) to an out-of-season seaside town for a one-hour supervised reunion with her estranged mother Ash. Emily has been in the care of her Nana since she was a toddler and barely remembers her mother - she’s nervous and unsure. With watchful eyes and rising pressure, can these fragile first steps be the start of healing a broken bond?

Drama