Documentary Quintessentially Irish will be released by Vision Films in US cinemas and on VOD on March 12th. Interviewees include President Michael D Higgins, Oscar winner Colm Bairead, and IFTA winner Sharon Horgan.
Swipe Films has completed post-production on feature documentary Quintessentially Irish, directed by Frank Mannion (Get Lucky). The independent production company has sold the film to Vision Films for North America and all other available international rights, excluding UK and Ireland.
Quintessentially Irish will be released by Vision in US cinemas and on VOD on March 12th and by Swipe Films’ theatrical distribution arm in the UK and Ireland on April 26th. The film features interviews with President Michael D Higgins, President Joe Biden and HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco offering their take on what’s quintessentially Irish.
Other interviewees includes Pierce Brosnan, Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons, Prince Albert II of Monaco (discussing the Irish heritage of his mother the Oscar winning actress Grace Kelly), Bob Geldof, Andrew Scott, An Cailín Ciúin filmmakers Colm Bairead and Cleona Ni Chrualaoi, Sharon Horgan, Siobhan McSweeney, President Michael D Higgins, Rory Guinness (great-great-great grandson of Guinness founder, Arthur Guinness), business tycoons John Magnier and Dr Michael Smurfit, the conservationist and filmmaker Randal Plunkett, Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole, Grand National winning jockey Rachael Blackmore, trainer Aidan O’Brien, writer Emma Dabiri, Celebrity Masterchef winner Riyadh Khalaf, chef Anna Haugh, Olympic Gold medalist Usain Bolt and his agent Ricky Simms and more, including a cameo from musician Niall Horan.
The filmmakers had exclusive access to the White House on St Patrick's Day, the Palace of Monaco, Aras an Uachtarain during the State visit of Joe Biden in April 2023, and the 20th IFTA Awards. The film shot all over the country, including the Irish Derby at the Curragh, the K Club in Kildare, Bushmills Whiskey Distillery, the Borris Festival of Writing and Ideas in County Carlow, the Little Museum of Dublin, Dublin Castle, Trinity College Dublin and Drumirla in County Mayo.
It is the third film directed by Frank Mannion, after his debut Sparkling: The Story of Champagne featuring Stephen Fry and Quintessentially British with Ian McKellen and Judi Dench. The film is executive produced by Oxana Popkova, produced by Mannion, edited by Charlie Emseis, and the composer is James Jones. The film is a Swipe Films production in association with Carlow Castle Films, Kasiyan Knockbeg Entreprises, CBS 1A1 Motion Picture Fund and Vision Films.
Lise Romanoff, CEO/Managing Director of Vision said “Quintessentially Irish is an unprecedented peek into the celebrity and history of Ireland. We are excited to release this fun and fact-filled documentary in time to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!”
Filmmaker Frank Mannion added “Quintessentially Irish reflects the modern reality that Ireland is much more than cliched representations of leprechauns; the country has a renewed national self-confidence that is reflected in the thrilling mix of a new generation of artists and novelists, the inward investment brought in by the filming of Game of Thrones, Banshees of Inisherin and Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the large revenues pumped into the Irish economy by tech companies like Apple and Google. There are 23 million Americans who claim Irish heritage and 6 million Brits with an Irish grandparent. That Irish diaspora is our target audience. I look forward to seeing what audiences make of this valentine to all things great and Irish. Hopefully audiences will feel that Quintessentially Irish is the perfect film to watch this St Patrick’s Day.”
Quintessentially Irish will be available in cinemas and on VOD across the US and Canada on March 12, followed by Blu-ray in April.
