04/04/2005

Neil Jordan’s Breakfast on Pluto starring Stephen Rea, Liam Neeson and Brendan Gleeson is among six Irish films co-financed by the Irish Film Board (IFB) that are reporting positive sales abroad during this first term of 2005.
Jordan’s second adaptation of Patrick McCabe’s novel (after Butcher Boy) has been sold by Pathe International to Sony Classics for North and South America, Germany, Austria and South Africa, as well as to Spain (Vertigo), Japan (Elephant/Pony Canyon), Scandinavia (Nordisk), Holland (A Film), plus Portugal, Greece, Eastern Europe and Israel.
Meanwhile Lenny Abrahamson’s Adam & Paul which premiered at the Panorama section at the last Berlinale, went on winning the Main Prize and Critics Prize at the Sofia International Film Festival in March and has been sold by Moviehouse Entertainment to Spain (Karma Films), Greece (Village Roadshow), and the UK (Guerilla Pictures).

Peter Travis’ Omagh co-written by Guy Hibbert and Paul Greengrass, was sold by Portman International for theatrical distribution in Belgium (Cineart) and France (Haut et court) at the end of March and will be released this month by Alta Film in Spain.
Another UK-based sales agent The Works reported new sales on Gillies Mackinnon’s Tara Road starring Andie Macdowell and Stephen Rea. The film will be released by Buena Vista International in Ireland this year and was just bought by Svensk Filmindustri for Scandinavia.
Among the ‘older’ Irish titles, Cowboys & Angels was sold to TLA Releasing in the UK, Goldfish Memory will be released on 20 prints in Poland this month (SPI Films) and the 2004 Irish hit Man About Dog was recently bought by Element X in Israel.