A new star-studded, multi-award winning feature film ‘Bolan’s Shoes’ has today (15 September) arrived in UK & Irish cinemas following its international premiere in Liverpool’s FACT last night.
The film won the “Audience Award” at Manchester Film Festival 2023, as well as “Best Drama Feature” and “Best Editing” at Jasper Poppy International Film Festival.
Bolan’s Shoes is set in Liverpool and draws inspiration from the iconic 70s glam-rock band T.Rex, referencing their 1976 Manchester concert. The rest of the plot is fiction – from award-winning writer Ian Puleston-Davies (Silent Witness, Marcella). Puleston-Davies won the “Icon Award”at the Jasper Poppy International Film Festival. Puleston-Davies also directed Bolan’s Shoes and it was produced by Terri Dwyer (The Stranger in Our Bed) and Dean Fisher. The film boasts an impressive cast, of BAFTA-nominated actor Timothy Spall (Secrets and Lies, Harry Potter Franchise), Leanne Best (The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, A Town Called Malice), Mark Lewis Jones (The Crown, Gangs of London), and Mathew Horne (Gavin and Stacey, Bad Education).
Speaking to Liverpool Film Office, Director Ian Puleston-Davies spoke about how Liverpool has been a creative inspiration for him throughout his life and also heavily influenced his latest film, he said:
“As kids growing up over the border in Wales, we always looked to Liverpool for excitement and inspiration. Liverpool was always about the Beatles and the football teams – it was our mecca.
“So aged around eight or nine, driving through the Mersey tunnel and coming out in Liverpool was like Dorothy waking up in technicolour Oz. I’m not saying that where I grew up was black and white, it certainly wasn’t, but there was just something special and magical about the city.
“And as I got older, I became aware of the city’s incredible history, it’s architecture and of course it’s wonderful nightlife.
“In all these years as an actor, whenever I’ve turned up to shoot something in Liverpool, I’ve had this extra buzz of excitement, more than any other city really, sorry Manchester, but it’s true – the same buzz I had as a kid.”

‘Bolan’s Shoes’ premieres in Liverpool’s FACT
Bolan’s Shoes takes us on a tumultuous journey through the height of T.Rex mania in 1970s Liverpool. It captures the heady exhilaration of glam rock mania through the experiences of a group of over-excited kids from a local children’s home before a devastating road accident changes their lives forever.
Years later, and still clinging to the adoration of her childhood idol, survivor Penny takes best friend and fellow Marc Bolan fan, Steffan, to visit his shrine in London, but a chance encounter there catapults her back to the horror she had tried so hard to forget. Light-hearted comedy and supernatural chills abound in this inspirational story that explores the enduring legacy of childhood trauma and the life-affirming power of music.
Liverpool Film Office interviewed Ian Puleston-Davies, ahead of the film’s release. Read the interview in full HERE.
‘Bolan’s Shoe’s is in cinemas from 15 September. For more information visit Buffalo Dragon’s website.