Irish Films Selected For Sundance Film Festival

Two Irish feature films have been selected to screen at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

The documentaries – 'It's Not Yet Dark' by Frankie Fenton and 'In Loco Parentis' by Neasa Ní Chianáin and David Rane – are funded by Bord Scannan na hEireann (the Irish Film Board) and will compete in the World Cinema Documentary Competition.

It's Not Yet Dark is based on award-winning Irish film-maker Simon Fitzmaurice's memoir of the same name, following his diagnosis with Motor Neuron Disease (ALS) in 2008. The documentary chronicles Simon's life from the point of his diagnosis at the age of 34. Narrated by Colin Farrell, the documentary was produced by Kathryn Kennedy of Kennedy Films and Lesley McKimm, formerly of Newgrange Pictures with main funding from Bord Scannan na hEIreann/Irish Film Board (IFB) and Wellcome Trust in the UK.

Commenting on the selection, Director Frankie Fenton said: "It's the highest honour to have our film invited to screen at the Sundance Film Festival. We're all smiling with the news. It means so much to our small team to know that we are bringing Simon and Ruth's inspirational story to Utah audiences."

In Loco Parentis tells the story of Headfort, the last remaining boarding school for primary age children in Ireland. Directed and produced by Neasa Ní Chianáin and David Rane, the documentary brings together two seemingly incongruent worlds, as the ultra-modern teaching of Headfort's staff is set against the 18th century backdrop of the school's long reception rooms, long corridors and secret doors. Three years in the making, the film focuses on two of the longest-serving staff members, John and Amanda Leyden, who met as young teachers at the school in the 1970s and live on the school grounds. Unconventional, but both dedicated and inspiring teachers, they work long hours, serving as mentors and surrogate parents for the children in their care.

Reacting to the Sundance Film Festival announcement, Director Neasa Ní Chianáín, said: "We are so delighted to be invited. When we got the call from the Sundance Film Festival programmers, we couldn't believe it. They said that 'the world needs a life-affirming film like this at the moment.' Our audiences in Amsterdam laughed and cried through our film, and we are so looking forward to showing it to an American audience at the Sundance Film Festival next. It is a great opportunity to get our small film about these remarkable teachers in this amazing school out to a wider audience."

In Loco Parentis received its world premiere at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) last month, where it also became the first Irish film to be selected to compete in the coveted IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary. The film was funded by the IFB, BAI, RTE, TVE (Sp) and Creative Europe.

James Hickey, Chief Executive Bord Scannan na hEireann/the Irish Film Board, said: "As the largest independent film festival in the US, the Sundance Film Festival provides an important and powerful platform for both Irish films It's Not Yet Dark and In Loco Parentis to achieve global recognition. Ireland has had a very successful experience at the festival over the years with films such as 'Brooklyn', 'The Guard' and 'Calvary' all having had World Premieres here. The importance of being selected for major festivals such as Sundance cannot be underestimated in terms of ensuring wide international audiences for the films. Both films were chosen from thousands of international films and we are very proud of the teams behind each project."

The 2017 Sundance Film Festival takes place from 19 – 29 January in Park City, Utah.

www.irishfilmboard.ie

(JP)