SAVAGE Selected for International Festivals Ahead of Irish Cinema Release
SAVAGE Brendan Muldowney's low budget feature debut is having a busy time having screened at the Moscow International Film Festival, with upcoming screenings at the Espoo Cine International Film Festival in Finland and Lund International Fantastic Film Festival in Sweden as well as an Irish cinematic release scheduled for Friday 17th September.
SAVAGE tells the story of Paul Graynor, an alienated press photographer who lives and works in an unfriendly and threatening city, who becomes victim to a serious crime. Finding himself the subject, rather than the purveyor of an inner city tabloid story, Paul tries to come to terms with his attack, though the scars, both psychological and physical, prove impossible to heal. SAVAGE is an exploration of violence and masculinity, and studies in forensic detail, Paul's metamorphosis from victim to avenger.
Produced by Conor Barry for SP Films, with finance coming from the IFB, this gritty film stars Darren Healy (Eamon, Once) and Nora-Jane Noone (The Descent, The Magdalene Sisters). High Flier and Eclipse Pictures are handling the distribution.
The film premiered at last year's Galway Film Fleadh, with the Irish Times commenting that "by utilizing a brilliantly insidious sound design, Savage does a very good job of providing visual and aural correlatives for the protagonist's fractured psyche" and believed that Muldowney revealed a "distinctive directorial voice that should launch him towards a long and successful career." It also received six IFTA nominations including Best Actor for Darren Healy, with Mairead McIvor picking up the Best Editing prize and has screened at Brussels International Fantastic Festival, the Glasgow Film Festival and the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.
The 21st Espoo Cine International Film Festival in Finland runs from 20th-29th August with much of the festival programme formed by new European drama, with over 100 films included in the line-up. SAVAGE has also been officially selected to screen at the Lund International Fantastic Film Festival which takes place in Sweden from 23rd September - 2nd October. The aim of the festival is to help stretch the limits of the imagination, and to reinforce the intrinsic value of imagination in films with previous screenings including modern classics such as Face/Off, Donnie Darko, A Tale of Two Sisters and Serenity.
The eagerly awaited SAVAGE is set for a theatrical release in selected cinemas nationwide from Friday 17th September.