Key festival selections for IFB-backed films

Bord Scannán na hÉireann, The Irish Film Board, (BSÉ/IFB) has announced that two films attracting backing from the Board, Pete Travis’s 'Omagh' and Lenny Abrahamson’s 'Adam & Paul' have won selection to screen at the Toronto Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival, respectively.
“Both Toronto and Telluride are crucial gateways for European films into the highly competitive US market, so this news has great significance for the filmmaking teams of these two powerful Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board - backed movies,” says BSÉ/IFB Chief Executive Mark Woods. “The fact that the selectors for these important festivals are hearing the distinctive voices of Irish filmmakers is also great news for the Irish film industry as a whole.”
Omagh, which has already secured a number of significant international sales, will play as part of the Discovery programme in Toronto, which focuses on contemporary international cinema, introducing gifted and innovative new directors. Omagh has also been selected as one of just 15 titles from around the world to screen in official competition at September’s prestigious San Sebastian Film Festival.
For Adam & Paul, the Telluride selection comes after the film won the prize for Best First Film at the Galway Film Fleadh, which has generated offers from international sales agents.
Omagh is the powerful story of the 1998 Omagh Bombing, its aftermath and the families’ struggle to bring those involved to justice. A Hells Kitchen International/Tiger Aspect production, the film was produced by Ed Guiney and Paul Greengrass, executive produced by Andrew Lowe, Arthur Lappin and Greg Brenman and co-financed by the UK's Channel Four, Irish national broadcaster RTE and BSÉ/IFB.
Adam & Paul, a downbeat comedy which follows two desperate junkies over the course of a simple day, was produced by Johnny Speers, executive produced by Andrew Lowe and Ed Guiney and co-financed by BSÉ/IFB, RTE and Xtravision.
Two Irish shorts, Tom Hopkin's 'Close' and Peter Foott's 'The Carpenter And His Clumsy Wife, have been selected for the 61st Venice Film Festival in September. Close, which was funded by RTE and Filmbase with the assistance of BSÉ/IFB, has also been selected for the Montreal International Festival in August.
“BSE/IFB congratulates all the filmmakers on these selections for some of the world’s leading festivals at Toronto, Montreal, Telluride and Venice,” added Woods. “The selections show that those filmmakers with quality scripts telling universal stories with a local postcode and strong, distinctive voices backed by a range of funding partners will be recognised by their peers in the competitive international marketplace".
(SP)