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PRODUCTION Ireland / USA

Brian O’Malley takes on The Lodgers

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- Noted musician and literature professor David Turpin makes writing debut

Brian O’Malley takes on The Lodgers
A promotional image of The Lodgers

Director Brian O’Malley will shoot on location in Wexford over the next few weeks for The Lodgers [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
. The film marks the screenplay debut of eminent musician and gothic literature expert David Turpin. Set in 1920s rural Ireland during its War of Independence, the film tells the story of a pair of Anglo Irish twins who are just about to turn 18. They reside in a crumbling manor on the edge of a village, where they have lived alone since their parents' untimely death. Except, they are not entirely alone, for they share the house with an unseen spiritual force that resides in the basement, known only as the Lodgers. The twins must live by very strict rules set out by the Lodgers, or face devastating punishments.

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The cast includes Deirdre O’Kane who won Best Actress at the 2015 Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs) for Noble; Moe Dunford, who was Ireland’s EFP Shooting Star at the 2015 Berlinale, and won Best Actor at the IFTAs and ECU European Independent Film Festival for Patrick’s Day [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(2014); Roisin Murphy who was nominated for Best Actress at the 2013 IFTAs for What Richard Did [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
; and with emerging stars Charlotte Vega (Another Me [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Isabel Coixet
film profile
]
), Eugene Simon (Eden [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Charles Gillibert
interview: Mia Hansen-Løve
film profile
]
), Bill Milner (Anthropoid [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
) and David Bradley (the Harry Potter films).

O’Malley won the BAFTA/LA Award for Excellence - Honourable Mention at the Aspen Shortsfest for his 2004 short Screwback. His feature debut Let Us Prey was a selection at the 2014 Edinburgh International Film Festival and was nominated for the International Fantasy Film Award at Fantasporto.

O’Malley said, “I am really delighted with the talented cast we have on board. I think they will do a phenomenal job of bringing this world to life and translating the story to audiences in a really emotional way.”

The film is produced by Ruth Treacy and Julianne Forde of Tailored Films (Ireland) and financed by the Irish Film Board and Epic Pictures Group (US).

The film will be almost entirely shot in Wexford’s famous haunted house Loftus Hall, celebrating its 666th birthday this year. The location’s owner Aidan Quigley said, “Loftus Hall is an incredibly atmospheric and cinematic location and we have long considered it to be an ideal choice for a fictional ghost story. We are delighted that it has been chosen as the primary location for this elegant gothic horror and we can't wait to see the final result.”

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