Spotlight To Shine On Irish Film in Toronto
Two feature films funded by Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board (IFB) will screen at the illustrious Toronto International Film Festival next month. Rodrigo Garcia's ALBERT NOBBS which stars five-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close will have its world premiere at the prestigious festival while Mary Harron's THE MOTH DIARIES will have its North American premiere.The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the most important industry festivals in the world and it is the premiere film festival in North America from which the Oscar race begins. The illustrious festival which was founded in 1976 has previously showcased independent films such as Juno, Slumdog Millionaire and Little Miss Sunshine and will take place from September 8th - 18th.
ALBERT NOBBS stars Hollywood legend Glenn Close as a woman passing as a man in order to work and survive in 19th century Dublin. The film which shot on location around Dublin city centre earlier this year is also produced by Close.
The film which will screen at a special Gala Presentation, boasts an all-star line-up including Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, Jane Eyre), Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass, Nowhere Boy), Janet McTeer (Into the Storm, Tumbleweeds), Pauline Collins (You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, Shirley Valentine) as well as Irish actors Brenda Fricker (My Left Foot), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Tudors) and Brendan Gleeson (The Guard).
Starring Irish actress Sarah Bolger (The Tudors, In America) along with Lily Cole (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) and Scott Speedman (Underworld), Mary Hannon's THE MOTH DIARIES is a powerful emotional drama where eroticism and death are entwined when a teenage girl at a boarding school suspects her roommate is a vampire. The film is based on the debut novel of Rachel Klein of the same name.
THE MOTH DIARIES is to have its world premiere at the 68th Venice International Film Festival which takes place August 31st - September 10th.
As well as films being official selected for the festival, Irish producer Tristan Orpen Lynch of Subotica Entertainment (Perfect Sense, Song For A Raggy Boy) has been chosen as one of 12 European and 12 Canadian producers to participate in the Producers Lab Toronto which runs during the festival. The programme offers a platform to combine creative, technical and financial energy and is an opportunity to gain knowledge about international markets and film projects and identify the potential for concrete Canadian-European co-productions.
The Toronto International Film Festival takes place September 8th - 18th. More titles for the festival are expected to be announced shortly.
More About ALBERT NOBBS
The film was produced by Alan Moloney for Parallel Films in Ireland along with Glenn Close, Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn with funding from the Irish Film Board. The US rights to the film were recently acquired by Liddell Entertainment and Roadside Attractions and a US release is likely before the end of the year.
Close won an Obie Award in 1982 for playing the Nobbs character Off-Broadway in Simone Benmussa's theatrical interpretation of the same George Moore novella that the film is based upon, "The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs," and she has been passionate to bring the character to the screen for almost 30 years. The New York Times raved of Close on stage, "The performance is transforming." Industry pundits already rank her among those likely to be vying for an Oscar this season.
Rodrigo Garcia (Mother And Child) directs ALBERT NOBBS from a script that Gabriella Prekop, Man Booker prize-winning novelist John Banville and Glenn Close wrote based on a story by Istvan Szabo, adapted from the Moore novella. ALBERT NOBBS marks Close's first screenplay credit, as well as her feature film producing debut. . Production companies are Trillium Productions, Mockingbird Pictures and Parallel Film Productions, with support from WestEnd Films and Chrysalis Films, as well as the participation of Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board/ the Irish Film Board.
More About THE MOTH DIARIES
The Irish-Canadian co-production was produced by David Collins for Samson Films in association with Strada Films and Mediamax and received finance from Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board, Telefilm Canada, Alliance and Lionsgate. The sales agent Wild Bunch has sold the film to numerous territories throughout the world including Pan Vision in Scandinavia.