Element Pictures’ ‘The Guard’ is one of 11 European films confirmed by European Film Promotion's (EFP) members to receive Film Sales Support (FSS) at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
Seven feature films and four documentaries, including the Irish feature, were chosen to receive FSS marketing support which will cover up to 50% of costs for a publicist, the production of publicity material or ads in the trades. The films will be represented by seven different European sales agents and three production companies.
‘The Guard’, written and directed by John Michael McDonagh (Ned Kelly), sees Emmy and IFTA winner Brendan Gleeson (Into the Storm) playing an unorthodox Irish policeman who joins forces with Don Cheadle’s straitlaced FBI agent in a bid to take on an international drug-smuggling gang. The film’s other Irish acting talents include IFTA winners Liam Cunningham (Hunger), Fionnula Flanagan (Lost, Transamerica), Pat Shortt (Garage) and David Wilmot (Intermission, The Clinic).
The feature is an Irish/UK co-production, backed by The Irish Film Board and section 481 as well as International Financiers. It 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.
As a result of the scheme UK sales agents, Metropolis International sales will be now represent ‘The Guard’ at the Sundance festival. The eighth instalment of the annual FSS support scheme again received financial support from the MEDIA Programme of the European Union. FSS has been influential in the past in helping to bring European projects to audiences around the world, particularly to North and South America. The chosen films were confirmed by several EFP member organizations including the Irish Film Board, German Films, Greek Film Centre and Unifrance.
For a full list of the 11 chosen projects visit http://www.efponline.com
