Nine films ready in 2007

by Annika Pham

18/12/2006 - Irish Minister for Arts Sport and Tourism John O'Donoghue has just launched the Irish Film Board's 2007 Production Catalogue, showcasing the latest upcoming Irish feature and television productions. Nine films will be completed in 2007, including How About You the new film by Anthony Byrne (Short Order [trailer]), starring Vanessa Redgrave and Brenda Fricker.

Currently in post-production, How About You is a comedy adapted from the Maeve Binchy story about a girl who is left in charge of an elderly residential home's four "hardcore" residents during Christmas. The film is produced by the Oscar-nominated Noel Pearson and Sarah Radclyffe, for Head Gear Films, with co-financing from Beyond Films.

Two other films are in post-production: Marion Quinn's 32A [trailer], starring Aidan Quinn, and Kings, directed by Tom Collins ( Dead Long Enough).

Six films are now completed: Garage [trailer, film focus], the second feature by Lenny Abrahamson (Adam & Paul), produced by Ed Guiney (Element Films); horror film Shrooms [trailer] by Paddy Breathnach (I Went Down), to be released by BVI Ireland; animated feature Ugly Duckling and Me! [trailer], produced by Magma Films and to be released Eclipse Pictures; John Carney's Once, which has been selected for the upcoming Sundance Film Festival; and Niall Heery's award-winning debut Small Engine Repair [trailer].

Six international high profile television productions will film in Ireland in 2007 for an estimated value of €30m, including Murphy's Law Series 5 and The Old Curiosity Shop, both produced by Element Films; The Tudors Series 2, produced by World 2000; and My Boy Jack, starring Dan Radcliffe (Harry Potter) as the son of Rudyard Kipling, an ITV drama produced by Ecosse Films (UK) and Octagon Films (Ireland).