Director Tomm Moore is set to showcase his animated feature ‘The Secret of Kells’ at the Director’s Guild of America Theatre, LA on 19th September 2008 after being named winner of the Screen Director’s Guild Directors Finders Series 2008.
The award, organised by the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland (SDGI) in association with the Director’s Guild of America, sees an Irish director present their feature in front of an audience of American distributors and industry personnel with a view to securing a U.S distribution deal.
Selected by an international panel of experts, the Irish / French / Belgian co-production ‘The Secret of Kells’ tells the story of Brendan, the boy behind the famed Book of Kells. Twelve hundred years ago, the young orphan meets Brother Aidan, the keeper of an extraordinary, but unfinished book of illuminations. Aidan sets Brendan the task of completing the Book of Kells and he overcomes obstacles and faces his deepest fears to complete his duty.
The animation is produced by Cartoon Saloon, France’s Les Armateurs and Belgium’s Vivi Film with funding from the BCI, Irish Film Board, Celluloid Dreams, Canal Plus, Gebeka, FTD Video, Eurimages and RTE.
Last year’s winner of the Directors Finders Series was Tom Collin’s ‘Kings’, which went on to secure a U.S distribution deal and was Ireland’s official nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in the Academy Awards. ‘Kings’ also won five Irish Film & Television Awards at this year’s IFTAs.
The Directors Finders Series award is supported by The Irish Film Board, The DGA, The Arts Council, Culture Ireland and Screen Training Ireland.
