Following on from the films critical acclaim, award wins, and selection as Ireland’s official entry for the 2021 Oscars® Arracht has now been optioned by Smuggler and Kingsgate Films for a Hollywood remake.
Producer Greg Shapiro (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) will lead the remake with Patrick Milling Smith and Brian Carmody also due to produce.
“To have produced a film that moved Greg Shapiro and his team so much, that they wanted to option it is the stuff that dreams are made of,” said producer Cúán MacConghail, when speaking ahead of the upcoming release of the film in Irish cinemas. “He has produced several of my top ten films of all time. Tom and I are so delighted.”
The news comes ahead of the film’s theatrical release in Irish cinemas, which is being handled by Break Out Pictures.
“I was so excited when Greg and his team responded the way they did, the film seemed to really resonate with them,” director Tom Sullivan told IFTN. “It will be fascinating to see where they take our little big film next.”
Arracht tells the story of Colmán Sharkey, a fisherman, a father, a husband, living on the wild shores of Connemara in 1845 as The Great Hunger descends. As land taxes rise and crops rot Colmán confronts his landlord, the night ends in deadly violence and Colmán is forced to go on the run, hunted for crimes he did not commit. As the years pass in solitude, Colmán returns to the mainland and encounters a young girl, Kitty and a life-saving friendship develops.
A bracingly authentic and tender story about finding hope when all else is lost, Arracht is written and directed by Tom Sullivan, featuring Dónall Ó Héalai in the starring role. It is produced by Cúán MacConghail of Macalla Teoranta and backed by Screen Ireland and TG4.
Break Out Pictures will release Arracht nationwide on October 15th.
