Irish sci-fi drama LOLA, from director Andrew Legge and Irish production house Cowtown Pictures, has picked up the prestigious Méliès d’argent award at the Trieste Science + Fiction Festival.
Named after the pioneer of fantastic film in the silent film era, the Méliès Awards are given to the best European fantastic features and short films at member festivals. Since its inception in 1995, the Méliès has been awarded to films from all parts of Europe, reflecting the cultural wealth and variety of European fantastic cinema.
Eight festivals across Europe present a Méliès d’argent to the best European feature film and the best European short film. Another eleven festivals award a Méliès d’argent for short film only. Out of these Méliès d’argent feature film winners and short film winners, a jury chooses a Méliès d’or, for the best European fantastic film of the year.
The Méliès d’or is presented annually at the Festival Internacional de Cinema de Catalunya in Sitges (Spain). Following its win at the Trieste Science + Fiction Festival, LOLA will now progress to compete for the Méliès d'or next year.
Set in England, 1941, where sisters Thomasina and Martha have created a machine that can intercept broadcasts from the future. This delightful apparatus allows them to explore their inner punk a generation before the movement comes into existence. But with World War II escalating the sisters decide to use the machine as a weapon of intelligence, with world-altering consequences.
LOLA stars Emma Appleton (Everything I Know About Love, The Witcher), Stefanie Martini (The Last Kingdom, Prime Suspect 1973), Rory Fleck Byrne (This Is Going To Hurt) and Aaron Monaghan (Brassic, Metal Heart).
The film is produced by Alan Maher and John Wallace of Cowtown Pictures (Rialto), in association with Alice Lusher and Catryn Ramasut of ie ie productions (Queerama), with funding from Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, Head Gear Films, Ffilm Cymru Wales, and ROADS Entertainment. LOLA is executive produced by Phil Hunt, Compton Ross, Stephen Kelliher, Sophie Green, Dearbhla Regan, Bizzy Day, Andrew Legge, and Danielle Ryan.
The film premiered this year at the Locarno Film Festival and was recently acquired by Signature Entertainment for UK-Ireland distribution rights, working alongside distributor Break Out Pictures on the Irish release. A theatrical release is planned for 2023.
