West country-set dark comedy Bad Apples opens in UK cinemas today after filming at The Bottle Yard Studios and on location in Bristol, Bath and Somerset with Film Office support.

The film stars four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan (The Outrun, Brooklyn) as Maria, a primary school teacher doing her best to inspire a class of 10-year-olds but stifled by one unruly and chaotic student. With her career in question and the child's behaviour spiralling, Maria makes a series of questionable decisions that lead to her accidentally taking and locking this "bad apple" in her home. She tries desperately to backtrack, but when the class starts flourishing and the staff and parents are thrilled with the improvement, she finds herself in a very complicated predicament.

Bad Apples was filmed at The Bottle Yard Studios and on location across Bristol, Bath and Somerset, with support from local Film Offices. Sets for the film’s cellar scenes were built in the Studios, and prominent settings on location included a property on Grove Road in the Bristol suburb of Coombe Dingle, which provided the backdrop for Maria’s home. School scenes for ‘Ashton Brook Primary School’ were filmed at the old Bath Community Academy (formerly Culverhay School) and the former Bruton School for Girls site in Somerset. 

A woman in a grey hoodie sits at a table in a large hall, looking towards the camera. Two uniformed police officers sit across the table, with two police hats placed in front of them.

Producer Oskar Pimlott (American Honey) says: “It was brilliant to be based out of The Bottle Yard Studios for the duration of the production of Bad Apples. The location was ideal for the exact mix of geography and locations we required for the shoot, as well as all the studio work we did as we also had to build a large basement set. I'm excited to return there for the next opportunity we have to shoot in Bristol.”

Co-Producer Ben Greenacre (The Forsytes, The Outlaws), who lives in South Bris­tol, says: “Bris­tol and the surrounding area has had a brilliant reputation for a long time now as a great place to film. When people film here they always want to come back again. From The Bottle Yard Studios to the many great loc­a­tions to film at on its door­step, there are just so many options open to you.”

Filming also took place at a supermarket and garages in Whitchurch, South Bristol, and the woods and carpark area around St Bernadette's Old Boy's RFC in Bamfield. Cider factory scenes were shot at Showerings Cider Mill in Somerset, and a farm in Shepton Mallet also hosted filming. 

Written by Jess O’Kane and directed by Jonatan Etzler, Bad Apples is a provocative, satirical comedy that deliberately leans into challenging themes, exploring what happens to people when they don't fit into the boxes that society requires them to, and what sacrifices people might be willing to make in pursuit of a greater good. Describing it, Saoirse Ronan says: “It’s really holding up a mirror to society, to humanity. What is good and bad?”

A woman wearing a red jumper and staff lanyard sits behind a laptop at a desk, looking towards the camera. Papers are pinned to the wall behind her and a takeaway cup sits on the desk.

The cast also includes new talent Eddie Waller making his professional acting debut, young actress Nia Brown making her screen debut, Jacob Anderson (Timestalker, Game of Thrones), Rakie Ayola (Kaos, Black Mirror), Robert Emms (Chernobyl, Andor) and Sean Gilder (Slow Horses, The Gold).

Bad Apples is produced by Pulse Films (part of Vice Studios) and Hanway Films. It opens in opens nationwide in UK cinemas on 18 September, distributed by Paramount Pictures UK.