Bankside Films Announce Acquisition of Alan Friel's sci-fi feature, Woken
Posted: 5th November 2020
Bankside Films has announced its acquisition of Woken, written and directed by Alan Friel and due to start principal photography in Ireland next year.
The film will mark Irish director Friel’s feature debut, having previously directed several shorts, including Cake (starring Maxine Peake and Letitia Wright) which won the London Independent Film Award for Best Comedy/ Dramedy short and Best International Short at the Kinsale Shark Awards.
The film reunites Friel with BAFTA Award nominee Maxine Peake (Peterloo, Funny Cow, The Theory of Everything, The Falling) who will star alongside BAFTA Award winner Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, End of the F***ing World, Yardie, Lady Macbeth).
The film is produced by Brendan McCarthy, John McDonnell and Deirdre Levins of Fantastic Films whose credits include Vivarium (official selection at Cannes Critics Week 2019 and winner of the Gan Foundation Support for Distribution), TIFF Discovery 2019 opener Sea Fever and Wake Wood. The film was developed with the support of Screen Ireland.
An unfamiliar room. An unfamiliar bed. Faces she doesn’t recognise and a remote island she has no memory of.
When Anna wakes up from an accident without any memory of who she is or the family she left behind, she is forced to re-learn everything about herself, including her husband and the baby she is carrying. She is fed information by controlling yet kind strangers about an idyllic past life but a nagging uneasiness plagues her, leading her to question everything she is told.
When two disfigured men arrive on the island and there is a violent altercation, she discovers that the human race is close to extinction, forcing her to escape the controlling hands of the strangers to discover the truth about herself. When she learns that she is part of an experiment designed to re-populate the planet, she has to fight to save her life and that of her unborn child before her captors kill them both.
Stephen Kelliher said of the project: “We were immediately captivated by Alan’s short film, Cake, which immediately announces him as one of Ireland’s most exciting new directors. The story of Woken is as thrilling as it is emotive and we are thrilled to bring it to the world with such a dynamic cast and crew.”
Director Alan Friel said: “Woken will be a tense sci-fi thriller with a strong emotional heartbeat and surprises around every corner. I am excited to be working with my ideal main cast Naomi Ackie and Maxine Peake who are two of the most talented actors at the moment and who will bring great depth to their roles as Anna and Helen. I’m also very delighted to be working with Fantastic Films and Bankside Films who have been wonderfully supportive in bringing this story to the screen.”
Producers Brendan McCarthy, John McDonnell and Deirdre Levins said: “Woken is an exciting sci fi story shot through with nail biting tension, a huge heart and marvellous plot twists. We are looking forward to collaborating with visionary film-maker Alan Friel and our amazing cast to realise this stand out project.”