Irish film ‘The Lobster’ will have its world premiere at this year’s 68th Cannes Film Festival, screening in the official competition.
Starring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Lea Seydoux, John C Reilly, Ben Whishaw, Olivia Colman and Michael Smiley, ‘The Lobster’ is a blackly funny love story set in a near future where finding love is a matter of life or death and is the English language debut of internationally acclaimed Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos (‘Dogtooth’, Alps’).
The film was shot at Parknasilla in Co Kerry in Spring 2014 and produced by Element Pictures who will also distribute in Ireland later this year.
Speaking on the announcement, producer Ed Guiney said: ‘Yorgos is one of the most visionary film-makers working today and ‘The Lobster’ is a profoundly moving, brilliantly funny and disturbing meditation on modern love. Cannes competition is the perfect place to launch this film.’
This is Element Picture’s sixth film in official selection at Cannes in recent years; in 2006 Ken Loach’s ‘The Wind That Shakes The Barley’ won the Palme d’Or, in 2007 Lenny Abrahamson’s ‘Garage’ won the CICAE Prize at Directors’ Fortnight, Alicia Duffy's ‘All Good Children’ was also selected for the Director’s Fortnight section of the festival in 2010, followed by Paolo Sorrentino’s ‘This Must Be The Place’ in 2011. Last Year, Loach’s ‘Jimmy’s Hall’ also received its world premiere at the festival.
‘The Lobster’ is written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou and produced by Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, Ceci Dempsey and Yorgos Lanthimos. Executive Producers are Andrew Lowe, Tessa Ross and Sam Lavender. The film was developed by Element and Irish finance for the film came from the Irish Film Board.
Film4, the Irish Film Board, Eurimages, the Netherlands Film Fund, Greek Film Centre and BFI present in association with Protagonist Pictures, with the participation of CANAL+, CINE+ and Aide aux Cinémas du Monde, Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée, Ministère des Affaires Étrangères et du Développement International, Institut Français an Element Pictures, Scarlet Films, Faliro House, Haut et Court, Lemming Film co-production in association with Limp and with the support of the MEDIA Programme of the European Union.