Love Letters of Chiswick Woman Inspire New Film
The Extraordinary Miss Flower features mix of music and spoken word
Emiliana Torrini (left) photoshopped to sit next to Geraldine Flower
May 8, 2025
Geraldine Flower is someone who was well known to people who walk their dogs on Chiswick Back Common.
The Irish Australian moved to Chiswick in 1978 and lived here until her death in 2019. She made many friends, particularly when out walking her dog Reggie, and is described as someone who brought people together, always keen to chat.
She formed the Six O’clock Club of dog owners who meet regularly on the grass by the Rocks Lane sports centre.
After her death, her daughter Zoe, who still lives in Chiswick and looks after Reggie, came across a box containing hundreds of Geraldine’s passionate love letters from the sixties and seventies. They reveal a life of adventure, romance, and possible espionage. They provided the inspiration for an album released last year, Miss Flower, written by Zoe’s husband Simon Byrt and her friend Emiliana Torrini, the Icelandic singer who performed Gollum’s Song in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The songs, which are on the album are available on music streaming apps such as Spotify, are performed in a new film called The Extraordinary Miss Flower which is a mix of this music, scripted sections and dancing. You can see the trailer below.
The film, which was made in just a couple of days, was a collaboration involving many of Zoe’s friends who also knew her mother. Simon Byrt wrote the score for the film and appears in the band and there was help from some other locals including actor Niall Murphy (who also runs Four Leaf Coffee in Wheelers), production designer Emma Rios and Sophie Ellis Bextor who is the narrator during the opening scenes of the film.
The Extraordinary Miss Flower is directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, best known for their 2014 documentary 20,000 Days on Earth about Nick Cave.. These letters, , became the foundation for both the film and a 2024 album by Icelandic singer-songwriter Emilíana Torrini.
The film is a hybrid of performance, documentary, and theatrical storytelling. The music is interwoven with dramatic reenactments starring Caroline Catz, best known for appearing in Doc Martin, as Geraldine Flower, as well as readings of the letters by notable figures such as Nick Cave and Richard Ayoade.
It has already been praised for its inventive approach and emotional depth. Time Out described it as "a delight for the senses that is both deeply intimate and thrillingly cinematic," highlighting its ability to evoke the pre-digital age's expressions of love. The Guardian noted that, while Geraldine herself remains somewhat enigmatic, the film successfully captures the essence of her impact through the eyes of her admirers.
The Extraordinary Miss Flower is being released through the BFI and is set to open in UK and Irish cinemas on Friday 9 May and there will be a special performance on Tuesday 13 May at 6:10pm at Chiswick Cinema followed by a Q&A.
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