Congratulations to the Three Irish Films & Co-productions Selected for Official Competition at Sundance
Congratulations to Gerard Barrett (Pilgrim Hill) and Jack Reynor (What Richard Did), whose new Irish film Glassland, produced with support from Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB), has been tapped for official competition at the Sundance Film Festival, one of the world's leading festivals for independent film.
The Irish co-production Strangerland, co-scripted by Irish screenwriter Michael Kinirons and starring Nicole Kidman will also have its world premiere at the festival. Both Glassland and Strangerland will screen in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section which only selects 12 films from thousands of entries. The Visit, an Irish co-production, from the team behind the hit documentary His & Hers will screen in the World Documentary Competition category. Both films were produced with support from Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board
Commenting on the news, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board Chief Executive, James Hickey said: "Congratulations to the filmmaking teams behind Glassland, Strangerland and The Visit. It's great to see the work of talented Irish directors, writers and actors compete with the best in the world at the Sundance Film Festival. Frank and Calvary proved to be amongst the most well received films at Sundance last year and sold to territories worldwide. I look forward to seeing how international audiences react to these new films and wish the filmmaking teams the very best of luck."
Glassland is written and directed by Gerard Barrett and tells the story of a young taxi driver on the fringes of the criminal underworld who, in a desperate bid to save his mother from addiction and unite his broken family, is forced to take a job which will see him pushed further into its underbelly. The film is Barrett's follow-up to his award winning debut film Pilgrim Hill and stars Jack Reynor (What Richard Did), Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense) and Will Poulter (The Maze Runner). Glassland, the joint winner of the Best Film Award at the 2014 Galway Film Fleadh, was produced by Element Pictures (Frank, What Richard Did) and was filmed on location in Dublin.
Strangerland is directed by Kim Farrant and stars Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving and Joseph Fiennes.When Catherine and Matthew Parker's two teenage children disappear into the remote Australian desert, their relationship is pushed to the brink as they confront the mystery of their children's fate. The film is produced by Fastnet Films and Dragonfly Pictures and funded by the IFB, Worldview Entertainment, Screen Australia and Screen NSW.
Co-produced by Venom Film (His and Hers, Undressing My Mother), The Visit is a creative documentary that poses the question, what would happen if we were to be visited by a being from another world. The film presents this hypothetical scenario to experts from around the world who have already dedicated their lives to preparing for such an event.
The Irish film industry has a long and successful history with Sundance with previous films Frank, Calvary, The Guard, The Summit, Irish Folk Furniture and Once proving popular with previous festival audiences.
The 2015 Sundance Film Festival will take place from January 22nd to February 1st 2015 in Park City, Utah. Further selection announcements will be made by the festival this week.
To download the teaser trailer go http://glasslandfilm.ie/media