In the latest round of Production, Distribution and Development funding, over €3m has been awarded to upcoming Irish projects.
In Production, the film which received the highest funding this quarter (€550,000) in Production is ‘The Flag’- a comedy starring Pat Shortt (‘Garage’) which tells the story of a builder who pulls off a daring heist to reclaim the Irish flag of the 1916 revolution from its’ home in an army barracks in the UK. Eugene O’Brien (‘Clean Break’) wrote the script and Declan Recks (‘The Truth Commissioner’) is slated to direct with the film being produced by ‘Viva’ producers Rob Walpole and Rebecca O’Flanagan of Treasure Entertainment.
Being produced by Florin Films and Deadpan Pictures, culture clash comedy ‘Halal Daddy’ has received €500,000. It is about a young Muslim’s struggle to manage a rundown abattoir in the West of Ireland. The film will be directed by Conor McDermottroe from a script by McDermottroe and ‘Viva’ writer Mark O’Halloran.
Also receiving €500,000 this quarter is drama ‘A Long Way Home’. Produced by Samson Films, the film is about a boy’s efforts to re-unite his family and is written by Paki Smith and will be directed by Alex Rose.
€450,000 has been awarded to Mike Cockayne’s feature ‘Hardy Bucks 2’. Produced by Hardy Films, the film follows the story of Eddie Durkin and co in the Castletown in Mayo.
Some of the projects receiving Development Loans include four titles that Parallel Films are producing, ‘The South’, written and directed by Mark O’Rowe (‘Intermission’, ‘Perrier’s Bounty’), ‘The Girl From Mogadishu’, Mary McGuckian’s latest project which she will write and direct; ‘In Dark Places’ with Anthony Byrne set to direct a script by Byrne and ‘Game of Thrones’ actress Nathalie Dormer, and ‘Sidelined’, from a script by Ailbhe Keogan and Sinead Fagan. Treasure Entertainment has several projects in development receiving Fiction Development Loans, including Amy Huberman’s ‘Bolt’ and John Butler’s ‘Pai Chulo’. Blinder Films have three projects receiving fiction development loans - Kieron J Walsh’s ‘Tandem’, Tom Hall’s ‘The Lesson’ (co-written with Eugene O’Brien), and ‘Famine’ written by Kelly Campbell and Michael McDonough.
Animation projects receiving development loans include Telegael for two projects, ‘Burrows’ and ‘Heart of Darkness’; Jason Tammemagi’s ‘Jelly Pixies’. Feature Doc development has been given to Joel Conroy for his ‘Bullock Rock’ doc with Besom Productions, Tanya Doyle/Marmalade Films ‘The Ambush’, Fastnet Films’ ‘Fractures’ (Ross McDonnell) and ‘Jihad Jane: Desperately Seeking Marriage’ (Ciaran Cassidy), and Ciarin Scott/Atlantic Film Alliance’s ‘Step By Step’.
