Orion Productions has released the trailer for Maurice O'Carroll's new feature film Swing Bout. The film will have its world premiere at the Dublin International Film Festival on February 26th.
Swing Bout is a new feature film from writer/director Maurice O’Carroll (Dead Along The Way), starring Ciara Berkeley (Normal People). The film is being produced by Sinead O'Riordan (The Dry) and is set to premiere at DIFF 2024.
The film follows a young boxer, Toni (Berkeley), who is forced to face life-altering decisions, when her corrupt promoters and her conniving coach offer her a substantial payment to take a dive in the second round of her fight. The crime thriller is set backstage, in its entirety, at a major boxing event.
The supporting cast includes O’ Riordan, Ben Condron, Frank Prendergast, Chrissie Cronin and Johnny Elliott. Irish composer BK Pepper composed the score for the film. Post-production was handled by AP Studios Dublin, and grading was done by Lounge Post Production in Belfast.
“One of humankinds' oldest stories is about the young damsel who was plunged into an underworld of gods and demons and she had to overcome huge challenges to reemerge from the shadows with a stronger sense of self and an appreciation for the truth”, said writer/director Maurice O Carroll.
He added: “Swing Bout is a fresh, new take on that story but my ‘young damsel’ is a knockout artist with a criminal record; her underworld is being trapped in the corridors and dressing room beneath a stadium of fight fans baying for blood; a stadium that is heaving with liars and cheats who are forcing her to abandon her dreams for their own personal gain.”
The 90-minute indie picture, budgeted at €120,000 through private investment, was all shot on location at Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
"We always wanted to premiere at DIFF. We felt it would be the perfect launchpad for our film, so when festival director Grainne Humphreys called us to let us know, we were absolutely thrilled," said producer O' Riordan.
“From day one, we committed to gathering a team of breakout artists from both sides of the camera to make a breakout film. We told them to be under no illusion that it would be easy. On the contrary, the odds were stacked against us but we assured them all that we would give them a platform to do their best work and we promised to take the film on a journey. Premiering at DIFF is the beginning of that journey and I’m so happy for the entire cast and crew who gave this film their all.”
Swing Bout will screen in The Lighthouse Cinema at 9pm on Feb 26th, followed by a Q&A with the creative team, hosted by Sinead Brassil.
