Production will start this November on Ross McDonnell’s ‘Muerte and Me’, a feature length documentary that aims to present a multilayered meditation on the culture of violence on the US/Mexico border and beyond through the eyes of a cast of characters who are at the epicentre of the escalating strife. The director’s debut feature doc ‘Colony’ will receive an alternative U.S. release in the coming weeks.
With Ross McDonnell on board as director and cinematographer, ‘Muerte & Me’ will begin its first stage of shooting in Mexico at the start of November and filming on the documentary is expected to take six months.
Produced by Morgan Bushe at Fastnet Films, ‘Muerte & Me’ follows on from the success of ‘Colony’ - the company’s previous feature documentary collaboration with McDonnell, which was nominated for an Irish Film & Television Award and selected to participate in the IDA DocuWeeks Theatrical Documentary Showcase this year. The doc screened in L.A.’s Arclight Hollywood and New York’s IFC Centre during July and August as part of the IDA programme which was set up in order to qualify new feature and short documentaries for Academy Award consideration, by providing its participants with a seven-day commercial theatrical run.
‘Colony’ explored a growing crisis in the honeybee industry and the collapse of the hives in the US. The feature has recently secured a US distribution deal with Area 23a – a company that focuses on event driven films and provides alternative theatrical exposure through openings in libraries, museums, community centers, colleges etc, in addition to traditional distribution methods like theaters and home entertainment.
The development of 'Muerte & Me' has been supported by the Irish Film Board