A trailer for the Bruce Springsteen-inspired film Blinded By The Light has been released.
The film, which is due in cinemas on August 14, is based on Sarfraz Manzoor’s memoir Greetings From Bury Park, which explores the impact Springsteen’s lyrics had on him while he was growing up in England in the 1980s.
Manzoor tells Bend It Networks: “Growing up in 80s Luton as the working class son of Pakistani Muslim immigrants, my world felt very small. In the music of Bruce Springsteen I found both hope and wisdom on how I could transcend my circumstances and make my dreams to be a writer come true.
“The fact that I was so affected by Springsteen’s songs shows just how powerfully music can transcend race, religion, nationality and class.
“Blinded By The Light is also a tribute to my late father whom I often fought in my teenage years not realising his generation also had dreams they were not able to follow.”
The film was directed by Gurinder Chadha who says that she pitched the idea of the film to The Boss at a red carpet event in 2010, and adds: “Bruce nodded and said, ‘Sounds good, talk to Jon.’
“We then spent several years developing a script we knew had to impress Springsteen and managers Jon Landau and Barbara Carr or there would be no film without his music and blessings.”
Chadha adds: “At a time of such political and social instability in the world, this film provides us with a vital reminder of our shared humanity and the transformative power of music on both a personal and global scale.”
Blinded By The Light stars Viveik Kalra, Kulvinder Ghir, Hayley Atwell, Rob Brydon, Sally Phillips and Nell Williams.
Springsteen, meanwhile, will release his new studio album Western Stars on June 14 and recently shared the first single Hello Sunshine.
