Three Irish Films Selected for SXSW Festival in US
Two Irish feature films OUTCAST and HIS & HERS and the Irish animated short THE POLISH LANGUAGE have been selected for the SXSW festival in the U.S. which takes place 12th - 21st March.OUTCAST directed by Colm McCarthy (Murphy's Law, The Tudors) and co-written by Colm and Tom McCarthy will have its world premiere as part of the SX Fantastic section of the festival while Ken Wardrop's award-winning documentary HIS & HERS will screen as part of the Festival Favourites section.
SXSW based in Austin, Texas is one of the largest festivals in the United States covering film, music and web. SXSW Film has become one of the world's premiere film festivals, focusing on new directing talent.
OUTCAST, which stars James Nesbitt and Katie Dickie is a supernatural thriller that follows the story of Mary and her son Fergal who are on the run from Cathal, a dangerous and terrifying man, intent on tracking down and killing them using a dark form of magic to find them. Mary's only defense is to use the same ancient form of magic in order to protect her son but then local residents start being brutally murdered by an unknown life force. Is Cathal the beast responsible for the killings or is it the beast that he is trying to destroy?
Produced by Brendan McCarthy, John McDonnell and Eddie Dick for Fantastic Films and Makar Films, the film was funded by the IFB, Scottish Screen Bankside Films and Headgear with sales being handled by Bankside Films.
HIS & HERS is a beautiful and innovative documentary feature film that combines observation and imagination to illustrate a universal love story. Produced by Andrew Freedman with funding from the IFB, the film explores women's relationships with men by visiting moments from the lives of 70 female characters.
Since premiering at the Galway Film Fleadh where it won the Best Irish Film award last year, the film has picked up numerous awards such as the Audience Award at this year's Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, the Best Documentary Award at the Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards and the Best Cinematography Award at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
Also selected for this years SXSW festival is the animated short THE POLISH LANGUAGE. A creative animation written by Alice Lyons, this film-poem is about the subversive power of art and the renewal of poetry in the whispery language of Polish. It picked up the Best Irish Animation award at the Galway Film Fleadh last year and has already screened at the Clermont Ferrand Film Festival. It was produced as part of the Frameworks scheme which is funded by the IFB, the Arts Council and RTÉ.
SXSW takes place in Austin, Texas 12th - 21st March.