Irish Filmmakers set to take Manhattan as they Descend on NYC for Tribeca Film Festival
A host of Irish producers, directors, acting talent and crew will descend on New York City this week as a record number of Irish films screen in Robert De Niro's renowned Tribeca Film Festival.
The festival, which kicks off this Thursday April 20th, will feature a very strong Irish line-up including the world premieres of the new Irish feature LOTUS EATERS directed by Alexandra McGuinness and the Irish co-production THE HIDEAWAYS directed by Agnew Merlet along with the New York premiere of John Michael McDonagh's THE GUARD starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle. The Irish short films NOREEN, SWITCH and PENTECOST will also screen at the festival along with Irish director Lance Daly's new US film THE GOOD DOCTOR starring Orlando Bloom and a US documentary THE SWELL SEASON about the Oscar® winning duo Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.
Along with the screenings, there will be a major focus on business with the Irish delegation using the opportunity to network and make valuable contacts with US and international producers, distributors and sales agents. Included in the delegation are the IFTA Rising Star Domhnall Gleeson, directors Alexandra McGuinness, Thomas Heffernan and Lance Daly (Kisses), Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova along with a host of Irish producers and filmmaking talent.
The Tribeca Film Festival was founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff and is one of the most important festivals on the international calendar. The Tribeca Film Festival will take place in New York City from this Thursday April 20th until May 1st.
ABOUT LOTUS EATERS
LOTUS EATERS will have its world premiere as part of the Viewpoints programme and will screen with 19 others films that have unique, personal perspectives in their approach to their subjects. Written by Alexandra with Brendan Grant, the film, which is Alexandra's directorial debut, stars Irish actress and IFTA Rising Star nominee Antonia Campbell-Hughes (Albert Nobbs, The Other Side of Sleep, When Harvey Met Bob). LOTUS EATERS was produced by Fastnet Films with funding from Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB).
The bright young things of London's social elite lead an existence as languorous and lavish as it is self-destructive. At the centre is Alice, a stunning ex-model unable to keep up with the high standards of living her peers feverishly chase. Alexandra McGuinness' directorial debut presents a contemporary black-and-white portrait of overlapping cliques of friends struggling to get their lives under control before they fall numb to it all.
Starring Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Benn Northover and Cynthia Fortune Ryan, it filmed on location in Wicklow and Westmeath and was produced by Morgan Bushe and Mark Lee for Fastnet Films and McGuinnesslee with funding from the Irish Film Board.
ABOUT THE HIDEAWAYS
The Irish-French co-production THE HIDEAWAYS directed by Agnes Merlet will also have its world premiere at the festival. It will screen with the comedy-thriller THE GUARD directed by John Michael McDonagh in the Spotlight section of the festival.
James Furlong is the latest in a long line of Furlongs, each blessed or cursed with a supernatural power. As a boy growing up in rural Ireland, he longs to discover his own extraordinary, hidden ability. But his experiments merely lead to the death of his family and everyone around him. When a deadly disease sweeps through the reformatory to which he's been sent at the age of 10, James flees in horror at himself to live in isolation in the forest. Years pass and James, now a young man, is discovered by Mae, a young woman dying of cancer. A unique and passionate romance will flower between the boy whose only talent is to cause death and the girl who is effectively dead already.
The supernatural film is directed by Agnes Merlet (Dorothy Mills) and written by Nick Murphy and Agnes Merlet. It was produced by James Flynn and Jean Luc Ormieres for Octagon Films, Fidelite Films and Filmgate Films with funding from IFB, Eurimages, Film I Vast and Orange and sales are being handled by Wild Bunch.
ABOUT THE GUARD
THE GUARD is a thriller-comedy set on the west coast of Ireland where Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) is a small-town cop with a confrontational personality, a subversive sense of humour, a dying mother, a fondness for prostitutes, and absolutely no interest whatsoever in the international cocaine-smuggling ring that has brought FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) to his door.
The film is an Irish/UK co-production, backed by the IFB and international financiers. It's produced by Chris Clark and Flora Fernandez Marengo for Reprisal Films and Ed Guiney (Garage) and Andrew Lowe (The Wind that Shakes the Barley) for Element Pictures.
According to Variety"... it's Gleeson who rightly owns the screen as a beer-swilling, crotch-grabbing, Derringer-firing crusader with one hell of a filthy mouth to go along with his heart of gold." and the director John Michael McDonagh's "filmmaking crackles with energy".
ABOUT PENTECOST
This light hearted film directed by Peter McDonald tells the story of a young altar boy who is forced to serve at an important mass and has to make a difficult choice: conform to the status quo or serve an extended ban from his passion in life.... football.
The IFTA-nominated short picked up the Best Irish Short Film at the Corona Cork Film Festival last year and was produced by Eimear O'Kane for EMU Productions. It was funded by the IFB Signatures scheme which focuses on the making of live-action, fiction films that aim to encourage strong, original storytelling, visual flair and production values appropriate to the big screen. It is officially selected for the Shorts Narrative section of the festival.
ABOUT NOREEN
Domhnall Gleeson's short film NOREEN is a hysterical short starring Brendan and Brian Gleeson which tells the story of two Irish policemen and their quest to get out of trouble. It is Domhnall's directorial debut. Domhnall who has starred in True Grit, Never Let Me Go and Sensation to name a few acting credits, recently received the IFTA Rising Star Award and was a Shooting Star at the Berlin International Film Festival. NOREEN has been officially selected for the Shorts Narrative section of the festival.
ABOUT SWITCH
Two years after a traumatic car accident that leaves a girl in a vegetative state, the man responsible attempts to atone in Switch. Written by TJ Hundtofte and directed by Thomas Hoffernon, Switch was produced by Dave Leahy for Warrior Films.
ABOUT THE SWELL SEASON
The world fell in love with Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova when their songwriting collaboration in the film Once culminated in a jubilant Oscar® win. But behind the scenes, where Glen and Mar's on-screen romance became reality, a grueling two-year world tour threatens to fracture their fated bond. Gorgeously filmed in black and white, this music-filled documentary is an intimate look at the exhilaration and turmoil created by both love and fame.This American documentary was directed by Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins, and Carlo Mirabella-Davis and was not produced with funding from the IFB.
It will have its world premiere in the Viewpoints programme.
ABOUT THE GOOD DOCTOR
The Good Doctor is an American thriller which stars Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings) and Riley Keough (granddaughter of Elvis Presley) and tells the story of Dr. Martin Ploeck.
Having spent his life looking for respect, Ploeck (Bloom) meets an 18-year-old patient named Diane (Keough), suffering from a kidney infection, and gets a much-needed boost of self-esteem. When her health starts improving, Martin fears losing her, so he begins tampering with her treatment, keeping Diane sick and in the hospital right next to him. This film was not produced with funding from the IFB.
Irish director Lance Daly previously directed the award winning Irish feature KISSES which was produced by Fastnet Films.
PREVIOUS IRISH SUCCESS AT THE TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
The festival has had a strong relationship with Ireland over the past few years. Last year the festival showcased four Irish features including Neil Jordan's film ONDINE; Ciarán Hinds (Harry Potter, Munich) scooped the Best Actor award for his performance in Conor McPherson's film THE ECLIPSE in 2009 and Eileen Walsh picked up the award for Best Actress for her performance in EDEN in 2008.
For more information contact Louise Ryan on 086 329 7819