With 2016 lauded as a landmark year in film production for Ireland, the following projects are currently underway will join the list of 2017 titles to watch out for.
Starring Ellen Page (Tallulah) and directed by Irish talent David Freyne, ‘The Third Wave’ offers a new spin on the zombie genre, when 75% of the infected are cured and reintroduced to society fully aware of their acts when infected.
The project is produced by Rory Dungan and Rachel O’Kane for Tilted pictures and recently wrapped principal photography.
‘Black ‘47’ from Lance Daly (Kisses) follows Irish ranger Feeney as he abandons his post and returns home at the height of The Great Famine only to find his mother starved and his brother hanged at the hands of the English. It stars Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving and Irish talents Stephen Rea (The Butcher Boy), Sarah Greene (Penny Dreadful) and Moe Dunford (Handsome Devil).
It recently wrapped filming in Luxembourg and will shoot further scenes in Dublin in the New Year. ‘Black ‘47’ is produced by Macdara Kelleher of Fastnet Films.
‘Michael Inside’ is the latest feature from Frank Berry which also finished principal photography recently. It follows teenager Michael McCrea as he serves a three-month prison sentence when caught holding drugs for an older boy.
It stars Dafhyd Flynn, Lalor Roddy and Moe Dunford and is produced by Subotica.
Mel Gibson and Sean Penn were in counties Dublin and Wicklow for the last number of weeks filming The Professor and the Madman’ (Farhad Safinia). Based on the historical novel by Simon Winchester, the project sees Gibson portray Professor James Murray, who was the first person to attempt to compile the Oxford English Dictionary.
‘The Professor and the Madman’ is also produced by Fastnet Films.
Pat Shortt and Michael Smiley star in ‘The Belly of the Whale’ from Morgan Bushe as a pair of drifters who attempt to hold up an amusement arcade. The project went into production in November and also filmed in counties Wicklow and Dublin. Rory Dungan for Fastnet Film is producing'.
‘Peaky Blinders’ star Cillian Murphy leads the cast in ‘Delinquent Season’ from Mark O’Rowe, which examines two couples who are forced to reflect on their marriages and friendships. Parallel Films are producing the project.
Finally ‘The Man Who Invented Christmas’ from Bharat Nalluri, also produced by Parallel Films, is currently filming. Dan Stevens portrays Charles Dickens as he brings his novel ‘A Christmas Carol’ to life.
