Irish films MAUDIE and A COAT MADE DARK announced for the prestigious Telluride Film Festival
New Irish-Canadian feature film Maudie, along with short film A Coat Made Dark, both funded by the Irish Film Board, have been announced for the Telluride Film Festival, which opens tomorrow in Colorado.
Maudie is the latest film from Irish filmmaker Aisling Walsh (Song for a Raggy Boy) and stars Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine) and Ethan Hawke (Boyhood). Maudie is an unlikely love story in which a curmudgeonly miser hires a tiny disfigured woman to be his housekeeper, who becomes a well-loved folk artist. The film was produced by Parallel Films which previously produced Brooklyn and The Siege of Jadoville.
Written and directed by Jack O'Shea, A Coat Made Dark is an animation in which a man follows the orders of a dog to wear a coat with impossible pockets. It was produced by Damien Byrne for Still Films and features the voices of Hugh O'Connor, Declan Conlon and Antonia Campbell Hughes.
This good news for the Irish Film Industry comes hours after six IFB funded features films were announced for the London Film Festival including The Secret Scripture, A Date for Mad Mary, The Young Offenders, Without Name, A Dark Song and I Am Not A Serial Killer. The Toronto International Film Festival will also premiere eight new Irish films next week.
A Coat Made Dark in particular continues a remarkable festival run, with over 90 festival selections under its belt to date including Clermont Ferrand and Sundance. Nicky Gogan of Still Films commented on the news: "A Coat Made Dark is a wonderful and provocative film. I'm thrilled to see that screening at Telluride is going to be part of its extraordinary journey. Congratulations to Jack O'Shea, Damien Byrne, Caroline Campbell and the rest of the team."
The Telluride Film Festival is unique in that it does not announce the programme until the day before the Festival commences. Viva and Room both had their world premiere at the festival last year, before going on to enjoy great international success.
The Telluride Film Festival open tomorrow and runs until Monday.