Two New Irish Features Selected for Renowned Sundance Film Festival
Following in the steps of THE GUARD last year, two new Irish features GRABBERS directed by Jon Wright and SHADOW DANCER directed by James Marsh have been officially selected for Sundance, the most prestigious indie film festival in the US which takes place from January 19th - 29th 2012.
Irish films have had a strong presence at Sundance in recent years with the Oscar winning ONCE, along with the box office hit THE GUARD and Ken Wardrop's compelling documentary HIS & HERS all receiving their international premiere there. Last year THE GUARD achieved a major US sale at the festival and HBO bought the remake rights for the Irish documentary KNUCKLE.
GRABBERS, a comedy horror feature filmed on location in Donegal last year and stars Ruth Bradley (Love/Hate) and Richard Coyle (W.E., Prince of Persia). 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 (Coyle) is forced to sober up and team up with uptight, teetotal policewoman Lisa (Bradley) to protect the island's population from the tentacled, fang-jawed, barb-tongued creatures.
Commenting on the selection, producer Tracy Brimm said "Being invited to screen the film in Sundance is an incredible honour and we could not dream of a better platform to launch the film. We have no doubt that this will put Ireland in the spotlight and will certainly shine a light on some great Irish talent with a big future ahead of them especially screenwriter Kevin Lehane and actress Ruth Bradley."
Meanwhile SHADOW DANCER which is produced by Element Pictures and Unanimous Entertainment has been selected for the Premier section of the festival next month. Set in 1990's Belfast the film 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).
Speaking on the selection, producer Ed Guiney, Element Pictures 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.
More About Grabbers
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.
International sales are being handled by The Salt Company whilst Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has acquired UK rights to the project. It is expected that audiences will have an opportunity to see the film in Irish cinemas next year.
More About Shadow Dancer
SHADOW DANCER 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.
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.