Pre-production has begun on new Irish TV series ‘Flats’, with principal photography scheduled to begin in Dublin in February.
The six-part series, which is awaiting the greenlight from Dublin City Council to film in O’Devaney Gardens, a flats complex situated just off the North Circular Road, will film for two weeks in the residential area.
The series, which producers describe as six mini-films set in one block of flats, will focus on a different story with each episode. Similar to the format of TV3’s scripted series ‘Deception’, which is due to air in January, each episode will recur around a different them and different characters.
Episode one of ‘Flats’, which has a mystery/thriller theme, kicks off with the disappearance of a young boy that lives on the estate. Two residents with very different motives take it upon themselves to search for him, only to find things are not as they seem.
The remaining five episodes of the series will deal with themes such as drama, sci-fi, horror, fairy tale and terror.
The proposed filming location of O’Devaney Gardens, a housing estate built in the 1950s, had been awaiting a decision on a regeneration scheme for the last 15 years. Just last week government confirmed that plans to rebuild the flats had been scrapped, and the blocks would be demolished in five years’ time.
The complex is currently home to 44 families, with the remaining tenants already housed in temporary accommodation.
Fiona Graham of Guerrilla 12 Films has written the script and will direct the six episodes. She is also producing with Alan Rogers, who will also serve as DoP.
Graham previously wrote and directed the feature film ‘The Nixer’, which will be released theatrically in North America in 2013.
The cast of ‘Flats’ is made up of Raymond S Kinsella (Dark By Noon), Mike O’Flaherty (Belfast Story), David O’Neill (Portrait of a Zombie), Robert O’Connor (The Nixer) and Paul Johnson.
Post-production will be looked after by Jim Slevin and Brian Gleeson of Dublin-based post house Loaded Post Production. Mark Mangan will edit the series, with completion scheduled for July 2013.
Speaking to IFTN, director and producer Graham said she is currently shopping the series to Irish broadcasters, and if she is not successful, she will look further afield to get the series on the air. Graham also added the series, despite its gritty edge, will not rival ‘Love/Hate’, as the subject matter of each episode is different.
‘Flats’ is independently financed via a crowdsourcing website.
