New Europe Film Sales Boards Aislinn Clarke’s Irish Language Horror ‘Fréwaka’
Posted: 20th October 2023
New Europe Film Sales has boarded international sales on Northern Irish director Aislinn Clarke’s second feature Fréwaka ahead of the AFM, where it will unveil first footage. Fréwaka is funded through the Cine4 scheme, supported by Screen Ireland, TG4, Coimisiún na Meán (formerly the BAI), and Section 481. The film is the first Irish language horror to be released.
Fréwaka is a story of home care worker, Shoo, who, haunted by a personal tragedy, is sent to a remote village to care for an agoraphobic woman who fears the neighbours as much as she fears the Na Sídhe – sinister sprites who she believes abducted her decades before. As the two develop a strangely deep connection, Shoo is consumed by the old woman's paranoia, rituals, and superstitions, eventually confronting the horrors from her own past. The Irish and English-language production's title originates from the Irish word fréamhacha, meaning roots that are entwined underground.
The feature stars Clare Monnelly (Moone Boy), Bríd Ní Neachtain (The Banshees of Inisherin, Róise & Frank), and Ukrainian actress Aleksandra Bystrzhitskaya (F20). Fréwaka is produced by Dermot Lavery for DoubleBand Films and Patrick O’Neill for Wildcard.
Speaking about the film, writer-director Aislinn Clarke said:
This film is an original take on Irish folklore and contemporary Ireland, exploring the tension that exists between past and present, the personal and the public.”
Jan Naszewski, New Europe’s CEO said:
We’re excited to be part of a film, which combines an emotional story with great sense of eeriness and plays with folk iconography, which we personally love so much.”
Aislinn Clarke holds the Academy of Motion Picture and Science’s Gold Fellowship 2020, which supports emerging female filmmakers. Fréwaka follows her first feature film The Devil’s Doorway, which was released by IFC in the US.