White Friar will be the first official film collaboration between Ireland and France, following a new co-production agreement signed in Paris last December by Ambassador of Ireland to France Niall Burgess, and French Minister of Culture Rima Abdul-Malak.
The co-production was signed under the new agreement at the Irish Pavilion in Cannes, during an event hosted by Screen Ireland and the Centre National du Cinema (CNC).
White Friar marks the feature directorial debut of Irish actor Ivan Murphy. The film stars Anamaria Marinca (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) and Jean-Marc Barr (Lars Von Trier’s Europa).
“I am very grateful to our incredible team behind and in front of the camera in Ireland and France for all their work over the last couple of years,” director Murphy said of the co-production.
The film is a romantic thriller inspired by the life of Father Tom Murphy, an Irish Catholic priest who also served as a wing commander in the Royal Air Force during WWII and his relationship with Eva Hofer, a Hungarian Jew living in Vienna.
France’s Valentina Films and Ireland’s Max Films will co-produce.
“This is a wonderful day for our film, White Friar, and for our partnership with Max Films in Ireland,” said Valentina Films principal Xavier Castano, who will executive produce. “The new co-production agreement between France and Ireland is a wonderful opportunity for these two great filmmaking and storytelling communities to work together.”
Max Brady of Max Films added: “It has been a wonderful experience working with Xavier and his team over the last year and we are delighted to be moving another step closer to telling this great story.”
Director Ivan Murphy, grand nephew of Father Tom Murphy, also wrote the screenplay.
