‘My Brothers’ and ‘The Guard’, the directorial debuts from Paul Fraser and John Michael McDonagh respectively, have been added to the list of Irish films set to screen at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival (15 – 26 June).
The features will join Terry McMahon’s ‘Charlie Casanova’ and Karl Golden’s ‘Weekender’ in screening at the world’s oldest film festival with ‘The Guard’ selected as the prestigious festival’s opening film. Irish co-production, ‘Off the Beaten Track’ is also to screen.
‘The Guard’ is set to open the Scottish fest just weeks before its Irish Premiere on July 6th at the Galway Film Fleadh. ‘The Guard’ is written and directed by Michael McDonagh (Ned Kelly) and centres on Irish policeman, Sgt Gerry Boyle who is played by Emmy winner and IFTA winner Brendan Gleeson (Into the Storm). Joining forces with Don Cheadle’s straitlaced FBI agent in a bid to take on an international drug-smuggling gang, Sgt Boyle finds himself involuntarily drawn in to action.
The film is produced by Chris Clark and Flora Fernandez Marengo for Reprisal Films and Ed Guiney (Garage) and Andrew Lowe (The Wind that Shakes the Barley) for Element Pictures. Earlier this year the film opened the Sundance Film Festival and nabbed the Best Debut Film award for John Michael McDonagh in Berlin. Element Pictures Distribution will release the film nationwide on July 8th.
‘My Brothers’ is set over the Halloween weekend of 1987 and explores three young brothers' quest to replace their dying father's beloved watch. Written by IFTA nominated screenwriter Will Collins (Escape of the Wild Thing), the film stars Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead), Don Wycherley (Rásaí na Gaillimhe), Sarah Green (Shelter) and Eamonn Hunt (W.C.) alongside newcomers Timmy Creed, Paul Courtney and TJ Griffin as the siblings of the film’s title.
Invited previously to screen at the Galway Film Fleadh, the Tribeca Film Festival and the Rome International Film Festival, the Rubicon Films feature is produced by Rebecca O’Flanagan (The Eclipse) and Robert Walpole (Your Bad Self) and was lensed by P.J. Dillon (The Runway). It received three nominations at this year’s IFTA awards ceremony in the categories of Script Film for Will Collins; Editing for Emer Reynolds (I Went Down) and Score for Gary Lightbody and Jacknife Lee.
Finally, Irish co-production ’Off the Beaten Track’ is to receive its international premiere at the Scottish event. The film, produced by Suin Ni Raghallaigh (Poen House), Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) and Dieter Auner (photography, Mebollix) who also directed, centres around a young shepherd in Transylvania whose trade comes under threat as his brother and friends migrate for seasonal work to Germany.
For more information about the festival which runs from the 15th to the 26th of June visit www.edfilmfest.org.uk
