Irish Film 'Shadow Dancer' to have World Premiere at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival
SHADOW DANCER directed by James Marsh has been officially selected to screen in the Premier section of the Sundance Film Festival next month. It will join the Irish comedy horror GRABBERS in the festival line-up following its selection last week.
SHADOW DANCER is set in 1990s Belfast and is a heart-wrenching thriller about a woman forced to betray all she believes in for the sake of her son. It is directed by Oscar winner James Marsh (Project Nim, Man on Wire), written by Tom Bradby and has a stellar cast including Clive Owen (Children of Men, Inside Man), Gillian Anderson (The Last King of Scotland) and Andrea Riseborough (Never Let Me Go, W.E). Irish actors include Aidan Gillen (Love/Hate, The Wire) and Domhnall Gleeson (True Grit, Sensation).
The film is produced by Andrew Lowe and Ed Guiney for Element Pictures and Chris Coen for Unanimous Entertainment. It will be the third year for Element to have a film at the festival following Five Minutes of Heaven winning the World Cinema Directing Award and the World Cinema Screenwriting Award in 2009 and The Guard opening the world dramatic competition last year.
Speaking on the selection, producer Ed Guiney said that "'After a brilliant experience at Sundance last year with The Guard we are looking forward to launching James' wonderful film to the world at the festival this year".
The Sundance Film Festival, which was originally founded by Robert Redford, is world-renowned as a showcase for the best in new independent cinema and will take place January 19th - 29th 2012.
The film was funded by the British Film Institute, BBC Films, Wild Bunch Production and LipSync Productions with the participation of Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board.
More About Grabbers
Directed by Jon Wright from an original screenplay by Kevin Lehane, the story captures the idyll and charm of a rural Irish fishing village, as the peace of the enchanting Erin Island community is shattered by an invasion of giant squid-like creatures from the sea, known as "grabbers", who start picking off the villagers. Handsome but washed-up local policeman O'Shea is forced to sober up and team up with uptight, teetotal policewoman Lisa to protect the island's population from the tentacled, fang-jawed, barb-tongued creatures.
The film was produced by Forward Films in the UK, Samson Films in Dublin, in association with High Treason Productions, Nvizible and The Salt Company with finance from Bord Scannán na hÉireann/ Irish Film Board, the UK Film Council, High Treason, LimeLight and Northern Ireland Screen.