Rialto will receive World Premiere at the 2019 Venice International Film Festival
Posted: 25th July 2019
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland congratulates Peter Mackie Burns’ Rialto on its selection to the Venice International Film Festival 2019, where it will compete in the Orizzonti strand.
Commenting on the selection, Screen Ireland Chief Executive, James Hickey said: “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Peter Mackie Burns, Mark O'Halloran and Cowtown Pictures on Rialto’s selection for the 2019 Venice International Film Festival. Following on from previous success for Irish film last year with The Favourite, Venice is one of the world’s leading film festivals and the selection process highly competitive. The Orizzonti strand for which Rialto has been selected in particular represents new horizons in world cinema that demonstrate creative originality. This is a testament to the creative talent behind Rialto, and will provide an excellent launchpad for the film in the European marketplace.”
Produced by Alan Maher and John Wallace for Cowtown Pictures, the producers commented: “We are thrilled to be premiering Rialto in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival. For Mark O’Halloran to have trusted us to bring his remarkable screenplay to the screen gives us an enormous sense of pride. Helping to realise the directorial vision of the prodigiously gifted Peter Mackie Burns has been very rewarding, as has been collaborating closely with Tristan Goligher and Valentina Brazzini from the Bureau. We had amazing talent working across all departments on Rialto, including a wonderful cast led by the fiercely committed Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, and we are very much looking forward to sharing this work with audiences next month.”
Starring Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, with a screenplay written by Mark O’Halloran, Rialto follows a middle-aged Dublin docklands worker, Colm, as he begins a relationship with Jay, a young male prostitute, and his life and psyche unravel. Colm is in his mid-forties, married, with two teenage children. Still grieving the death of his father, a destructive figure in his life, Colm struggles with his relationship to his own son, whilst at work a recent takeover threatens his job. Unable to share his vulnerability with his wife, Colm’s world is falling apart around him. In the midst of this crisis, Colm solicits sex from a young man called Jay. This encounter and his growing infatuation has a deep effect on Colm.
Mark O’Halloran said, "I am thrilled and excited that Rialto will be premiering at such a prestigious festival. This is a film I am very proud of and I believe it is a testament to the talents of all those involved. It will be such an honour to have our first screening at Venice. Very special thanks to Screen Ireland and the BFI too."
Rialto is produced by Alan Maher and John Wallace for Cowtown Pictures, as well as Tristan Goligher and Valentina Brazzini for The Bureau. Financed by Screen Ireland, the BFI and The Bureau, with The Bureau acting as sales agent.
The 2019 Venice International Film Festival will take place 28 August – 7 September. You can find more information on the Orizzonti strand and line-up here.