British feature film ‘Swansong’ starring Irish actresses Eva Birthistle and Antonia Campbell-Hughes will premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh on Saturday, July 11.
‘Swansong’ is the debut feature film of award-winning writer/director Douglas Ray, who worked as Ken Loach’s assistant and has built up a reputation for his quirky short films featuring actors such as Tom Hardy, Rafe Spall and Ruth Wilson.
The film follows former rock star Mark, who finds out his wife has been cheating on him with a woman so embarks on an ill-advised kidnap in revenge – only to discover that he’s not the real psychopath among them.
Wife Karen is played by Bray native Eva Birthistle – who has won multiple awards and starred in RTE hit ‘Amber’. Probably best known as the lead in Ken Loach’s ‘Ae Fond Kiss’, she has starred in numerous TV and film dramas, previously winning London Film Critics Circle British Actress of the Year and twice named IFTA Best Actress in a Leading Role (for ‘Middletown’ and ‘Amber’). Birthistle also has a role in John Crowley’s upcoming period drama ‘Brooklyn’, which co-stars Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson.
Karen’s lover Jamie is played by Northern Ireland’s Antonia Campbell-Hughes, star of Irish feature film ‘The Other Side of Sleep’, for which she was named as a Star of Tomorrow by Screen International. She has appeared in an array of TV series, including ‘Spooks’, ‘Lewis’ and the sitcom ‘Lead Balloon’ and she also had a major supporting role in Ivan Kavanagh’s acclaimed horror film ‘The Canal’, which was released to Irish cinemas earlier this year. Campbell-Hughes has previously been nominated for two IFTA Awards (for ‘The Other Side of Sleep’ and ‘3096 Days’).
‘Swansong’ also stars Paul Hilton and acclaimed comedian Matt Berry, who recently won the BAFTA for Best Male performance for his role in ‘Toast of London’, co-created with Irish writer Arthur Mathews (check out our recent interview with Mathews where he lists the films that have shaped him as a writer here).
The world premiere of ‘Swansong’ will be screened at 10pm on Saturday 11 July in Cinemobile. A director’s Q&A will follow the screening.