Glasgow is set to host a month-long filming stint on The Etruscan Smile, a feature starring Brian Cox currently in production in San Francisco.

The film is an adaptation of the 1985 book by Jose Luis Sampedro in which an old farmer from Italy moves to live with his son and daughter-in-law in Milan when he becomes seriously ill.

In the feature version, the protagonist is an elderly Scotsman called Rory MacNeil (Cox) who moves to San Francisco from his remote island home seeking treatment for his terminal illness. There he finds his final days and emotions hugely affected by the bonding he develops with his American grandson.

Mihal Brezis directs from a screenplay she wrote with Oded Binnun, Michael McGowan, Sarah Bellwood and Michal Lali Kagan; Arthur Cohn produces. Sets have been specially built to host the production on an industrial estate to the north-east of Glasgow, with the unit due to arrive in March.

The construction of a purpose-built set for this international feature serves to enhance further the need for a Scottish studio, especially coming at a time when Northern Ireland has had a new studio plan approved.

Photo via Getty Images Enterainment/Vivien Killilea.