Paul Ferris film set for cinema release in January

A HARD-HITTING feature film about the life of Glasgow gangland figure Paul Ferris is set to get a cinema release.

The Wee Man, which has a star-studded cast, will get a world premiere in Glasgow in January shortly before it hits screens nationwide.

Martin Compston, who shot to fame as a teenager in the Ken Loach drama Sweet Sixteen, has landed the key role of Ferris.

John Hannah will play Ferris’s nemesis, Tam McGraw, in the film, which has been made and is being distributed by London-based Carnaby International.

The film, scheduled for release on January 13, was famously shot in London due to problems securing permission to film in Ferris’s home city from Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde Police.

It has been directed by Ray Burdis, who also made The Krays movie, with other stars including Star Wars actor Denis Lawson, Comfort and Joy’s Clare Grogan, and Stephen McCole, one of the stars of Neds.

The film charts the life of Ferris from his childhood in 1960s Glasgow and his rise through what the film-makers describe as the city’s “murky underworld.”

A spokeswoman for Carnaby International said: “The Wee Man follows Paul growing up an ordinary young kid with decent, hardworking parents in the notorious area of Blackhill, Glasgow and the journey through his teenage years to manhood.

“The story begins in the sixties. At the age of just 11, Paul has already learned that life on the street is tough. Everybody knows his place. Poverty breeds corruption, crime, violence and bullying.”

Ferris was famously cleared of murdering Arthur “Fat Boy” Thompson in 1992 after a jury delivered a not-proven verdict, but was later jailed after being found guilty of gun-running.

The film is based on the autobiography of Ferris, written after his release from jail in 2002.

• Watch the trailer for The Wee Man on YouTube