Monaghan village set for stardom in Ireland’s latest feature MIDDLETOWN
Ireland’s latest feature film MIDDLETOWN has just begun production in the picturesque village of Glaslough in Northern Monaghan. MIDDLETOWN is an explosive tale of the ambition and betrayal as two brothers battle for the heart and soul of their home town, threatening to tear one family apart forever. Shooting began last Monday in Glaslough, a former Tidy Town winner and home to the Castle Leslie estate and will continue for next 3 weeks; from there it will move to Ulster American Folk Park in Belfast.Directed by Brian Kirk (Murphy’s Law, Pulling Moves) and scripted by Daragh Carville, MIDDLETOWN features an outstanding cast including Matthew Macfadyen (Mr Darcy in the global hit Pride and Prejudice, lead in award-winning In My Father’s Den); Eva Birthistle (won Best Actress for her role in Ken Loach’s Ae Fond Kiss at 2004 Irish Film & Television Awards and will next be seen on screen in Neil Jordan’s Breakfast at Pluto alongside Cillian Murphy); Daniel Mays (Vera Drake); Gerard McSorley (won Best Actor at 2004 IFTA for Omagh; played John Gilligan in Joel Schumacher’s Veronica Guerin, at cinemas now in The Constant Gardener opposite Ralph Fiennes) and Mick Lally (Alexander, The Halo Effect). MIDDLETOWN is produced by Michael Casey (Freeze Frame), Ireland’s Producer on the Move at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, and is co-produced by Mark Byrne and Martha O’Neill.
MIDDLETOWN is financed by Bord Scannán na hÉireann/Irish Film Board and the Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission and will be released in cinemas across Ireland in summer 2006 by Eclipse Pictures.