IRISH FILM 'INSIDE I'M DANCING' SCOOPS TOP AWARD AT EDINBURGH FILM FESTIVAL
Damien O'Donnell's INSIDE I'M DANCING, last night scooped the prestigious Standard Life Audience Award at the 58th Edinburgh International Film Festival.Co-financed by WT2 (the low-budget wing of Working Title) and Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board (BSÉ/IFB), INSIDE I'M DANCING led a prestigious field in the Audience poll which included The Motorcycle Diaries, Hero and Dear Frankie. Fellow WT2 and BSÉ/IFB co-financed film MICKYBO & ME scooped third place. Previous winners of this award include box office hits The Full Monty, Billy Elliot, Rabbit Proof Fence and Amelie.
INSIDE I'M DANCING tells the story of a young man with cerebal palsy whose life is transformed by maverick Rory O’ Shea, when an unlikely friendship between the two is formed and they embark on a journey of discovery. It was inspired by a story by Galway-based writer, Christian O’ Reilly with the screenplay written by Jeffrey Caine (Goldeneye, The Constant Gardner).
Octagon Film Producers Juanita Wilson, James Flynn and Catherine Tiernan travelled with actress Romola Garai to Edinburgh to collect the award at a reception at the Caledonian Hilton yesterday. ‘’ We are absolutely delighted for Damien and everyone else involved in this project’’, said producer Juanita Wilson. ‘’ It is a privilege to win the audience award which is such an important impra mater for the film and we would like to thank the festival for providing us with such an excellent platform for the forthcoming release’’.
"This is a absolutely huge achievement for a terrific Irish film", said BSÉ/IFB CEO Mark Woods. "The Irish Film Board congratulates everybody involved in the film and look forward to its release both in Ireland and overseas". INSIDE I'M DANCING will be distributed by Momentum in Ireland and the UK in October and will be distributed by Focus in the United States in early 2005.