FilmOffaly and Filmbase 2009 award announced
Recently FilmOffaly, Offaly's Film Commission in partnership with Filmbase announced a new award for a film to be shot on location in Offaly.
With €8,000 up for grabs, free location insurance, reduction on editing and equipment and a premier at Tullamore Omniplex, the package proved extremely enticing, attracting 110 scripts entries.
Two professional script readers were employed to whittle it down to a shortlist of 8, each of whom went through an interview process. Alan Fitzpatrick and Declan Recks were charged with the final decision making process and after much deliberation chose a script by Domhnall Gleeson.
The film short is a dark comedy, telling the story of two guards, one older, one younger on duty in Offaly. Very much character driven we get to know the two men, before the film takes a pacy turn into a dramatic conclusion, using all the seemingly unimportant character details and revelations in the previous scenes.
The film will be on location in Offaly towards the end of the year. Chairperson of FilmOffaly, Marcella Corcoran-Kennedy says, "We are delighted with the response and the outcome of this initiative. We knew that we had to be proactive about encouraging more production in Offaly and this project has certainly put us on the map. We look forward to working with the production team to ensure that their time here is enjoyable, positive and rewarding".
Writer and Director, Domhnall Gleeson has been primarily involved in the film industry as an actor and has an impressive catalogue of experience on both stage and screen. Playing major roles in stage productions such as Martin McDonagh's ‘The Lieutenant of Inishmore' and Mamet's ‘American Buffalo' have seen him work under numerous award winning directors. Roles in screen productions such as McDonagh's ‘Six Shooter' and the final two Harry Potter films have also provided him with extensive experience in the film industry.
In 2005, Domhnall also graduated with a DIT Media Arts degree. Whilst continuing to enjoy his work as an actor, Domhnall shows a keen interest in spending more time behind the camera as a Writer/Director. His short Film "What Will Survive of Us" is his directorial debut and is currently in the latter stages of post-production.
The film will be produced by El Zorrero Films who during the past three years has produced several short fictions and documentaries with the Irish Film Board and French-German broadcaster ARTE. During this time we have also produced various projects for RTE and TG4. Their recent documentary project funded by the Irish Film Board, ‘Visiting Day', was premiered at the recent Cork Film Festival and their independently funded short documentary, ‘God and Napoleon', won the Jury Prize at the 2008 Stranger Than Fiction documentary festival. Since this time it has also claimed a number of special mentions at both national and international festivals. El Zorrero Films most recent production ‘What Will Survive of Us' which was written and directed by Domhnall Gleeson is currently in post production.
The producing team for this project consists of Juliette Bonass, Ciarán Deeney and David Clarke