Oscar nominated Irish director Ruairi Robinson (Blinky, Fifty Percent Grey) is set to direct his first feature film, thriller ‘The Last Days on Mars’, which is penned by screenwriter Clive Dawson. Qwerty Films’ Michael Kuhn (The Duchess, Being John Malkovich) and Andrea Cornwell (The Scouting Book for Boys) will produce ‘The Last Days on Mars’ with Focus Features International handling international sales and distribution. Focus will commence sales at the American Film Market in November.
The feature follows the story of an astronaut crew on Mars, who are on the verge of a major breakthrough, with collected rock specimens revealing microscopic evidence of life. But during their last few days on the mission, a mishap at a routine excavation sees one of them fall to his death, before his body is taken as a host and re-animated by the life form they sought to discover.
Focus Features International Co-President Alison Thompson commented, “We are looking forward to working with exciting new filmmaker Ruairi Robinson who has already showcased his talent with a number of short films, and we are also thrilled to be involved in a project together with renowned producer Michael Kuhn who will help guide Ruairi’s vision for the film.”
‘The Last Days on Mars’ is set to film in early 2012 on location in Jordan and in the UK. The project received a provisional offer of funding from the Irish Film Board in July 2011. Speaking to IFTN today the IFB confirmed they were delighted to support a Ruairi Robinson’s debut feature and the on-going development of new Irish talent. Robinson’s 2002 Oscar nominated short film ‘Fifty Percent Grey’ was funded by the IFB’s Short Shorts Scheme. Their offer of funding is conditional on considerable Irish spend on the film, as is the case with all projects in receipt of IFB funding. Irish producer John McDonnell of Fantastic Films couldn’t confirm the details of Irish spend due to the project’s early stage of financing.
Ruairi Robinson has been making waves in the film industry since the success of his 2001 Oscar nominated short 'Fifty Percent Grey'. Robinson has received over 30 international awards and nominations for his short films and commercials and was most recently attached to direct Lionsgate's new contemporary sci-fi feature 'The Fallen', also due to shoot in 2012. With 'The Last Days on Mars' set to shoot in early 2012, it is likely to be his feature directorial debut.