The Golden Tulip International award for Best Film was awarded to Lenny Abrahamson’s dark masterpiece at the closing gala ceremony of the main competition, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts.
‘What Richard Did’ - an adaptation of Kevin Power’s ‘Bad Day in Blackrock’ and produced by Element Pictures- is also set to screen at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York next week, running from April 22-27th.
The film has screened worldwide to universal critical acclaim at such festivals as the Toronto International Film festival and the BFI London Film Festival, with writer Malcolm Campbell also winning the Best Screenplay Award at Evening Standard British Film Awards.
At this year’s IFTA awards, it won five awards in the categories of Best Film; Best Director; Best Film Script; Best Actor for Jack Reynor; and Best Editing Film/Drama for Nathan Nugent.
As broken exclusively on IFTN, the film brought Jack Reynor to the attention of Hollywood action director Michael Bay, leading to his casting in the upcoming blockbuster Transformers 4 alongside Mark Wahlberg, and his signing with US talent agency WME.
Expectations are understandably high for Lenny Abrahamson’s next feature ‘Frank’, an eccentric comedy about a young musician which takes the unusual step of obscuring its star Michael Fassbender’s beneath a fake head with a painted-on face.
‘Frank’, also produced by Element Pictures, is currently in post-production and co-stars Domhnall Gleeson and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
