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Ahead of its opening on February 26th, the first trailer has landed for The Truth Commissioner directed by Declan Recks (Eden). Filmed on location in Belfast, Derry and Dublin, the film is adapted from David Park’s award winning novel of the same name and looks behind the rhetoric surrounding the Northern Ireland peace process. Synopsis: Set in a post-troubles Northern Ireland, The Truth Commissioner follows the fictional story of Henry Stanfield (Roger Allam, V for Vendetta), a career diplomat who has just been appointed as Truth Commissioner to Northern Ireland. Co-starring Barry Ward (Jimmy’s Hall), Sean McGinley (The General), Conleth Hill (‘Game of Thrones’), Ian McElhinney (‘Game of Thrones’) and Tom Goodman Hill (The Imitation Game), the story revolves around the lives of three men who are directly or indirectly involved in the disappearance, 20 years earlier, of 15-year-old Connor Roche. Though Stanfield starts bravely, he quickly uncovers some.

Haifaa Al-Mansour’s A Storm In The Stars and comedy Halal Daddy among those supported in latest funding round.

A culture-clash comedy set in Ireland’s first Halal meat factory is among the productions backed by the Irish Film Board (Ifb) in its latest round of funding decisions, which totals more than €3m.

Halal Daddy - the story of a young Muslim’s struggle to manage a rundown abattoir in the West of Ireland - has received a production funding commitment of €500,000.

It is one of a number of comedies backed by the Ifb as it faces the challenge of building on what has been a buoyant period for the Irish film industry, with a number of projects performing strongly throughout awards season. Comedy traditionally performs well with domestic audiences.

Halal Daddy will begin shooting in Sligo in early summer and was written by Conor McDermottroe (Swansong: Story Of Occi Byrne) and Mark O’Halloran (Adam & Paul...

Production commences on political thriller starring Roger Allam.

The Truth Commissioner, a political thriller set around the Northern Ireland peace process, has begun principal photography this week in Belfast and Dublin.

The adaptation of David Park’s 2008 novel, directed by Declan Recks (Eden), will film for five weeks across locations spanning Belfast and Londonderry in Northern Ireland as well as Dublin and other parts of the Republic of Ireland. Historic locations will include Derry-Londonderry’s Guildhall setting for the Bloody Sunday enquiry and Belfast’s Stormont Castle - seat of the Northern Ireland Executive.

The cast, led by Roger Allam (The Queen, The Thick of it), includes Sean McGinley, Tom Goodman Hill, Conleth Hill, Ian McElhinney, Bird Brennan and Barry Ward.

Carnaby International handle sales and took the upcoming title to Berlin’s European Film Market (Efm) last month.

Set in a post-Troubles Northern Ireland, the film follows the fictional story of Henry Stanfield (Allam), a career...

'Food Guide To Love', a Dublin-set romantic comedy directed by Spanish husband and wife team Dominic Harari and Teresa de Pelegri, and starring Richard Coyle and Leonor Watling, will begin shooting in Ireland on August 7. The feature, an Irish, Spanish and French co-production, is currently in pre-production in Dublin. Ireland's Parallel Films and Spanish production company Tornasol are the main producers with France's Haut et Court also on board. A strong Irish cast have also been recruited with David Wilmot (Good Vibrations) set to play a hippie who comes between the two leads and Bronagh Gallagher cast as the cynical and humorous wife of Oliver's best friend. Other Irish cast attached to the project include Lorcan Cranitch (Rome) and Ger Ryan (Raw), who will play Oliver's mother. Chris Newman (Aisling's Diary) and Michelle Beamish (Eden) have also been cast in minor roles.

Katie McGrath was born on October 24, 1983 in Ashford, County Wicklow, Ireland. She attended Trinity College in Dublin and graduated in History. Katie never considered acting as a career. Her real interest was in fashion journalism. After graduation she worked for lifestyle and fashion magazine, Image. Katie's mother had a friend who was an assistant director on the TV series The Tudors (TV). This friend was instrumental in getting Katie a job as a wardrobe assistant on the series. While working on The Tudors (TV) Katie said "A couple of producers said I should give acting a try. I just thought, "Why not?" It's like running away to join the circus, everyone wants to do it when they're young but then you grow up and get a proper job." Taking their advise she sent her photographs to Irish agents. As a result, she landed the plum role of Morgana on the...

As soon as we thought we could predict the outcome of the Oscars, here comes another surprise! This one's brought to you by the Writers Guild of America. Picked for Best Original Screenplay was Christopher Nolan's "Inception." The director, famously dissed for not getting a Best Director Oscar nomination, may just win the Best Original Screenplay come Oscar night. Oscar front-runner, "The King's Speech" was not nominated because it didn't quality under union rules which prompted Nolan to say during his WGA acceptance award that he looked forward to a time when he could accept the award "without qualification."

That could be the beginning of a great script Mr. Nolan, go write it :happy

For adapted screenplay, I'm happy to report that Aaron Sorkin's fantastic script won! Based on "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich, "The Social Network" was the only film last year that I predicted to win this very category.

Following on from its pilot broadcast last Christmas, Pat Shortt's hapless detective 'Mattie' will return for a new six part series starting Sunday, September 5th. Directed by Shimmy Marcus (Soul Boy) the series was shot in June 2010 around locations in Limerick.The comedy re-unites 'Garage' actor Pat with his original 'Mattie' cast members including Lesley Conroy (Eden), Alvaro Lucchesi (The Count of Monte Cristo), Sean McDonagh (Kisses) and Joe Taylor (Veronica Guerin). Shortt plays Mattie Dwyer, a country detective – who boasts a recurring ability to get into comic misadventures. Mattie's team include feisty female detective Sharon Kelly (played by Lesley Conroy), his smug fellow detectives, Tom and Felix (played by Alvaro Lucchesi and Sean McDonagh) and Superintendent O'Meara (played by Joe Taylor).

Shooting is underway on Venom's new short film 'Rosslare to Roscoff' directed by Ken Wardrop (The Herd) which is expected to be released early next year. The crew are currently shooting on location in France. The 12 minute project tells the tale of Gayle, a 29-year-old single mother, who has been coming to terms with her life since suffering a brain injury which has left her with an inability to produce language. Her relationship with Luc, her headstrong six-year-old son, has become increasingly difficult. 'Rosslare to Roscoff' concentrates on Gayle's failed attempt to introduce her son to his father. Director of photography for the short film is Kate McCullough (Sunshower) and the shoot is expected to wrap on Saturday, October 31st. The project's editor is Ken Wardrop. The short film features actress Lesley Conroy (Eden, The Clinic) in the lead role of 'Gayle'...

According to the latest news, we can now have a peak at both the poster and the trailer of the film Love & Savagery, which will be released in Canada on November 6, 2009. In case you were wondering, both the poster and the trailer were found on the web site of Morag Productions, the movie studio that is mainly in charge of the production of this film. By the way, the following is a detailed description of the film.

Synopsis:

Adapted from a novel by Des Walsh, Love & Savagery follows Michael McCarthy (Allan Hawco), a geologist and a poet from Newfoundland. In 1968, he travels to Ballyvaughan, in Ireland, to examine the “Burren” a geological wonder. Besides, he falls in love with Cathleen (Sarah Greene), a young woman who plans to be a nun. However, what will Cathleen choose? Michael or God? Or can she love both?

Further informations:

Director: John N. Smith...

A new Irish feature 'Snap' is set to commence principal photography this week in Co. Cork. 'Snap' is the debut feature film from writer/director Carmel Winters and stars award winning Irish actress Eileen Walsh (Eden, Pure Mule) and Aisling O'Sullivan (The Clinic). Produced by Martina Niland (Once) in Samson Films and co-produced by Cathleen Dore, 'Snap' is funded by Bord Scannán na hEireann/the Irish Film Board (Ifb), ScreenScene, Accomplice TV and Section 481.

Speaking from his base in London, director David Drury (The Cry, Midnight Man) talked to Iftn about his latest drama 'The Take', which premieres on Sky1 tonight. Drury chats about recreating the London criminal underworld in Dublin and gives his thoughts on the latest Red Eye HD technology. Created with the support of investment incentives provided by the Irish Film Board 'The Take' features a cast of talent including; Tom Hardy (Bronson, Stuart A Life Backwards), Emmy award winner Brian Cox (Braveheart, The Bourne Supremacy, Deadwood), Kierston Wareing (It's a Free World, Fish Tank), Charlotte Riley (Easy Virtue), and Shaun Evans (Teachers). The series is produced by Willow Grylls of UK independent film and TV production company, Company Pictures. A large Irish crew included Owen McPolin (Eden), Costume Designer Allison Byrne (The Daisy Chain) and Production Designer Susie Cullen (Zonad). 'The Take' was shot...

Principal Photography commenced this week on the new a six part comedy series - 'Anseo', produced by Wildfire Films for TG4. Charlie McCarthy (On Home Ground) will helm the drama which tells the story of civil servant Setanta de Paor who is the guardian of the Irish language but is about to become lost in translation with a savagely tightened public purse - and his only hope a parrot called Mairtin O Cadhain. Risteard Cooper (The State of Us) stars in the lead role and is joined by Conor McNeill (Cherrybomb), Norma Sheahan (New Boy), Kate Nic Chonaonaigh (Rolla Saor) and Michelle Beamish (Eden).

Chicago – The third week of the 12th Annual EU Film Festival at the Siskel Film Center is nearly upon us and we’re back to give you an idea of what to expect in the second half of arguably the best fest in the Windy City. We feature great new films from Ireland, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Belgium.

The first half of EU 2009 (which you can read about here and here) produced some excellent films including Ireland’s “Kisses,” Denmark’s “Worlds Apart,” and France’s “Shall We Kiss?” There’s nothing that we’ve seen that’s quite as notable as “Kisses” or “Worlds Apart,” the two best of the fest through week three, but there is a quartet of films well worth seeing this weekend. Get your calendar out and take notes.

You’re going to be busy on Saturday with a dark trio of quality films - Denmarks “Fear Me Not,...

The winners of the 6th Annual Irish Film and Television Awards have been announced at a gala ceremony held in Dublin's Burlington Hotel tonight, 14th of February 2009. Hunger was named Best Film, also picking up IFTAs for Actor in a Lead Role Film Michael Fassbender, Actor in a Supporting Role Film Liam Cunningham, Original Score David Holmes, Production Design Tom McCullagh and Sound Ronan Hill and Mervyn Moore. 'Hunger' actor Michael Fassbender was also presented with the Irish Film Board Rising Star Award. 'The Tudors' won Best Drama Series / Soap, in addition to Director Film Ciaran Donnelly, Actor in a Supporting Role Television Peter O'Toole, Actress in a Supporting Role Television Maria Doyle Kennedy, Costume Design Joan Bergin and Makeup and Hair Sharon Doyle and Dee Corcoran. Kisses director Lance Daly picked up the Director Film Ifta while Martin McDonagh received the Best Script Film Award for 'In Bruges'.

London -- Turner prize winning artist Steve McQueen's directorial debut "Hunger" walked off with half a dozen Irish Film Awards, dished out Saturday evening in Dublin by the Irish Film And Television Academy.

The movie picked up nods including best film, while the winner of actor in a lead role went to the movie's Michael Fassbender. Liam Cunningham took the evening's supporting actor nod for his turn in McQueen's movie.

Lance Daly secured the evening's best film director nod for "Kisses."

Elsewhere Robert Downey Jr. scored the event's best international actor for his turn in "Iron Man," while Meryl Streep was named best international actress for "Mamma Mia!"

Martin McDonagh's "In Bruges" took home the best international film nod while McDonagh also received the evening's best script film award for "In Bruges."

Eileen Walsh was awarded best actress in a film for "Eden," while Saoirse Ronan secured the...

London -- Marian Quinn's coming of age feature "32A," prison break title "The Escapist," Lance Daly's urban drama "Kisses," the Enda Walsh-scripted "Hunger" and Ian Fitzgibbon's dark comedy "A Film With Me In It" will battle it out for this year's best feature at the Irish Film and Television Academy awards.

Organizers announced the nominations across 37 categories in both film and television Thursday in Dublin.

Daly and Fitzgibbon will battle it out in the best film director category with Martin McDonagh ("In Bruges") and Declan Recks ("Eden"), organizers said. The event also will see the introduction of an award this time round in the newly created best feature documentary category.

The shortlist includes the musical "Dambe -- The Mali Project," "Gabriel Byrne: Stories from Home," Irish boxing documentary "Saviours," the asylum seekers story of "Seaview" and the surfing documentary "Waveriders."

The awards will be dished out in Dublin on Feb.

Winner of the Best Actress award at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, Eileen Walsh is an Irish actress known largely for stage work and an Irish TV show, Pure Mule. But her new movie Eden, which won her the award at Tribeca and opens today, has already introduced her to American audiences with her tender, heartbreaking performance as Breda, an ignored and lonely wife. The martial drama started as a play performed in Dublin, and Walsh knew the director, screenwriter, and her co-star Aidan Kelly, all of which went into making Eden the emotional experience it is. Having traveled again to New York while five months pregnant, Walsh talked to me about getting into her lonely character, and the grand experience of making the movie with who she calls "the boys." Were you in New York when the film was at the Tribeca Film Festival? I was here for three...

by Eric Kohn (November 12, 2008) In Irish director Declan Recks' remarkably tense romantic drama "Eden," actions speak louder than words -- or, at least, more coherently, as far as American audiences are concerned. For those inexperienced in the careful discernment of regional accents, "Eden" offers no subtitles, but the central themes are thankfully not lost in translation. Recks relied on visual lyricism as much as dialogue when translating Eugene O'Brien's devastating 2002 play about an estranged young married couple from the stage to the screen. As a result, he doesn't mind if a few lines remain unintelligible to certain viewers. "It makes them pay attention more," Recks told indieWIRE. "People might not get every single word, but they know what's going on from the performances. It's not a very heavily plotted film; it's a character study."...

By Neil Pedley

There is plenty of (semi)lighthearted fare at the art house this week with Danny Boyle tracking a "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" whiz kid in Mumbai, Arnaud Desplechin looking at a family reunion in France and a Bollywood musical playing out in Miami, followed by films that are distinctively more "hardcore," whether that refers to Harry Potter fans or elderly curmudgeons. Oh, and there's also some globetrotting carnage with our man Craig -- Daniel Craig.

"B.O.H.I.C.A."

If this debut effort from "Melvin Goes To Dinner" producer turned writer/director D.J. Paul is to be believed, the best way to support our brave boys serving overseas is to send them some sunscreen and a truckload of Sudoku books. Marooned in the middle of the Afghan desert guarding a radio tower, four army reservists (Adam Rodriguez, Nicholas Gonzalez, Kevin Weisman, Brendan Sexton III) do battle with the...

Paris -- The "Red City" will be ablaze with international cinema when the eighth annual Marrakech International Film Festival kicks off in the Moroccan capital Nov. 14.

Jury president Barry Levinson will open the nine-day festival with his latest film, "What Just Happened?," and the fest will close with anti-poverty collaborative project "8" from filmmakers including Jane Campion, Mira Nair, Gael Garcia Bernal and Wim Wenders.

The Union Jack will be flying high as the festival celebrates 40 years of British cinema with a 40-film retrospective, while a "Flashback" section will honor iconic filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and Joseph Losey.

Steve McQueen's "Hunger" and David Rocksavage's "Shadows in the Sun" will screen in the "Coups de Coeur" special favorite features section and Saul Dibbs' "The Duchess" will make a cameo in the out-of-competition section.

Ridley Scott's "Body of Lies," Fred Cavaye's "Anything for Her" and Dan Harris' "The...

Some movies unfurl slowly. The characters draw you in and then gradually reveal themselves, allowing the audience to see, feel, and breathe their world through their point of view, regardless of how ugly or boring it may be. The indie movie Eden (Liberation Entertainment) is one such movie.

Irish director Declan Recks expertly adapts writer Eugene O'Brien's award-winning play about a marriage teetering on the brink of extinction while exposing the tedium and underlying staleness that many couples experience after growing too comfortable with each other.

read more...

Eleven ACE features (Ateliers du Cinema European) have been recommended for a nomination for the European Film Awards to be announced December 6, 2008! 'Moscow, Belgium' by Christophe Van Rompaey, produced by Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem (A Private View), 'Eden' by Declan Recks, produced by Martina Niland (Samson Films), 'The Class' by Laurent Cantet, produced by Carole Scotta (Haut & Court), 'Giorni e nuevole' by Silvio Soldini, produced by Tiziana Soudani (Amka Films Productions), 'Home' by Ursula Meier, produced by Denis Delcampe (Need Productions) and Helena Tatti (Box Productions), 'I am from Titov Veles' by Teona Strugar Mitevska, produced by Diana Elbaum (Entre chien et loup), 'Lemon Tree' by Eran Riklis, produced by Bettina Brokemper (Heimatfilm), 'Love and Other Crimes' by Stefan Arsenijevic, produced by Herbert Schwering (Coin Film), 'Black Ice' by Petri Kotwica, produced by Steffen Reuter (Schmidtz Katze Filmkollektiv), 'Waltz with Bashir' by Ari Folman, produced by Roman Paul (Razor Film Produktion), 'Wolke 9' by Andreas Dresen, produced by Peter Rommel (Rommel Film).

Full list of recommended films: European Film Academy.

The film is directed by Declan Recks. The film stars Aidan Kelly, Eileen Walsh, Padraic Delaney and Karl Shiels. The film is adapted to the screen by Eugene O’Brien. It is based on the play of the same name by Eugene O’Brien.

Synopsis

Breda and Billy Farrell are a seemingly happy, normal couple approaching their tenth anniversary. In private, however, their marriage shows signs of strain. As Billy begins to obsess over a young woman, Breda desperately searches for a way to preserve their bond.

The film is all set release on November 7 th

Here is the trailer

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London -- The European Film Academy unveiled the 44 movies on this year's long list for the upcoming European Film Awards, scheduled for Dec. 6 in Copenhagen.

The 44 titles come from 27 countries across the continent including four from the U.K.

Joe Wright's "Atonement," Nick Broomfield's "Battle for Haditha," Mike Leigh's "Happy-Go-Lucky" and Steve McQueen's "Hunger" will all hope to make the nominations' list with titles such as Kornel Mundruczo's "Delta" from Hungary and Andrzej Wajda's "Katyn" from Poland vying for a place.

In the 20 countries with the most Efa Members, members have voted one national film directly into the selection list.

To complete the list, a selection committee consisting of Efa board members and invited experts have included 24 other titles.

Over the next few weeks, the 1,800 members of the European Film Academy will vote for the nominations in the different award categories.

The nominations will then be announced Nov.

Declan Recks' "Eden" has been selected to screen as the opening night film of the first Irish Film Festival of Los Angeles, which kicks off at the Clarity Theater in Beverly Hills on Oct. 2.

"Eden," starring Eileen Walsh and Aidan Kelly, is the portrait of a married couple that Eugene O'Brien adapted from his play of the same name.

The closing night special event on Oct. 5 will include two rare Irish silent films accompanied by a live orchestra with an original contemporary score composed by Eimear Noone, Irish film composer and conductor of the Los Angeles Ballet.

The festival will also screen Tom Collins' "Kings," the first Irish-language film ever submitted in the best foreign-language category for an Academy Award.

Other titles in the lineup include "Grandpa...Speak to Me in Russian," directed by Louis Lentin; "Shalom Ireland," directed by Valerie Lapin; "Learning Gravity" (aka "The Undertaking"), directed...

A Swedish horror film and a documentary following a female peace activist in war-torn Liberia has scooped the top awards at New York's Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday.

Let the Right One In - directed by Tomas Alfredson - took the award for Best Narrative Feature, beating 11 other finalists.

Pray the Devil Back to Hell - directed by Gini Reticker and narrated by singer Angelique Kidjo - won Best Documentary Feature. Both films each won $25,000 (GBP12,500).

Other films to be honoured at the festival include My Marlon and Brando (Best New Narrative Filmmaker Award ) and Spanish director Carlos Carcas won Best New Documentary Filmmaker for Old Man Bebo.

The Best Actor in a Feature Film award went to Thomas Turgoose and Piotr Jagiello for their roles in the British film Somers Town, while the Best Actress Award went to Eileen Walsh for her role in the Irish movie Eden.

The Tribeca Film Festival, co-founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, celebrated its seventh year. They founded the festival in 2001 following the attacks on the World Trade Center in a bid to spur the economic and cultural revitalisation of lower Manhattan through an annual celebration of film, music and culture.

• A streamlined lineup, and some restructuring in the ticket pricing means that the Tribeca film festival folks are fine-tuning a festival which is slowly leaving the learning curve stages. With today's PR release, the 7th edition once again showcases global efforts, has tons of titles up for grabs and many of those titles and filmmakers are unfamiliar to me since about half of the 145 films are by first time directors. Scroll below to see the complete list of offerings: Films that I've heard of prior to include, from the World Narrative comp we have Shane Meadows' latest entitled Somers Town. The project which initially was supposed to be a short film until it ballooned into something bigger, we have Michelle Monaghan's taking on duel roles as producer and actress in a family drama called Trucker. Notable new works from the "Encounters" section include legends Melvin Van Peebles and Robert Drew,

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