Conor McPherson will premiere his directorial debut, Saltwater, at the Berlin Film Festival, 9-20 February 2000. Produced by Robert Walpole for Treasure Films, it is an adaptation of his stageplay, This Lime Tree Bower.
With a longer post production time than anticipated, Saltwater missed out on production company, Treasure Films, now traditional festival stomping ground, the San Sebastian Film Festival. Treasure's Paddy Breathnach claimed the new director prize there in 1994 with Ailsa and using that prize money to direct his next feature I Went Down, claimed the same prize in 1997.
McPherson penned the award winning script for I Went Down and hopes that his directorial debut will bring new horizons for the Dublin based writer. Neil Jordan seems to think so. Announcing that McPherson will begin work on his next film in the Spring it is even more interesting to hear that the script is based on one of Jordan's own novels.
Saltwater will feature in the panorama section of the Berlin festival. It combines new work by renowned directors and talented newcomers. The only condition being that all films screened are World or European premieres. There are a range of awards in this competitive section which was once merely an information sidebar of the event.
The film stars Peter McDonald, last seen with McPherson in I went Down, and also stars Brian Cox and Conor Mullen. For those who are attending the festival, Saltwater premieres on Tuesday 15th at 19:00 at the Zoo Palast. It screens again the following day at 12:30 at the Cinemaxx and at 14:30 on Friday 18th at the International.
The Berlin Festival site can be visited at www.berlinale.de
