Projects in genres: Northern Irish

Synopsis

Little Matador  is a feature length documentary about children bullfighters in Mexico. Kids as young as eight are trained to kill bulls ten times their weight. The film follows three children who are fighting not just the bull but their own demons; Michelito is ten. The adored child of a matador Dad, Michelito has killed over two hundred bulls. ‘Picasso was born to paint, Mozart to make music – and Michelito to be a matador,’ says Dad. Can Michelito fulfil his father’s dream to become the youngest matador in history? Joel is nine. Neglected by his mum and step-father, he finds paternal love in the ring. Matador Ismael becomes Joel’s surrogate father and guardian angel. But if Ismael moves to Spain for his own career, what will happen to Joel? Andrea is twelve. She started bullfighting when her father moved to America. Andrea has disowned her dad – who has found a new woman - and vows to save her mum from poverty by becoming a superstar bullfighter. But will Andrea ever get over her terrible nerves every time she enters the ring? Little Matador is an extraordinary testimony to the lengths these kids will go to realise their dream.

Synopsis

Mickey B is a world first, a feature film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, made with serving prisoners as cast, in Northern Ireland's notorious maximum security prison, HMP Maghaberry. Set in the fictional private prison of Burnam, where gangs run the wings, violence and drugs are the common currency. Duncan, the number one drug dealer, is about to be released. Mickey B is the muscle collecting on his behalf. The three witches take on the guise of three bookies, fixing the odds for their own ends. Ladyboy, Mickey B's bitch embodies the corrupting role of the queen of hate, scheming to reach the number one slot. Shot in hand held close up with cold, razor-blue filters, an unrelenting claustrophobic intimacy draws us into this dark world of ashen, scarred faces and tattooed flesh. Casual everyday violence, bourn out of the prisoners’ first hand experiences, ensures gritty, authentic and visceral performances. The laconic, drawling voices snake the story through each unexpected shocking attack. The brutality of clipped street slang delivered at staccato pace punctuates the monotony of endless prison time. This is a Macbeth like no other.

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Michael McCrea owes money to Darren Perrier, the biggest, nastiest gangster in the whole of Dublin. Today's the day that Perrier will collect. But Michael is flat broke and only has 24 hours to pay up. Michael's best friend Brenda has just been dumped. To make matters worse, she’s just shot one of Perrier’s thugs. Perrier puts a price on Michael's head, a 'bounty', so now Michael and Brenda must escape every hood in town. Michael's dad Jim has had a vision that Death himself is waiting on his doorstep, ready to strike as soon as he falls asleep. Jim joins our fleeing couple, but it's a nightmare being on the run with insomnia.

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Ireland, 1942. While the adults are off fighting in the War, two children are forced to walk a fine line between responsibility and childhood fantasy. In the dripping taps and ticking clocks of their home they discover hidden Morse Code messages, but if the messages are real, who sent them?

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Waveriders is the previously untold story of the unlikely Irish roots of the worldwide surfing phenomenon and today's pioneers of Irish big wave surfing.  

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One man contemplates becoming a vigilante to try and escape his banal existence.

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8.5 Hours is an intense, contemporary drama about one day in the working lives of four software workers in Dublin. On one particular Monday, each of the characters finds their lives are in turmoil and each undergoes a gruelling series of events between the hours of 9 to 5.30, the 8.5 hours of the title.  

Synopsis

Sheamy, an Irish ex-priest recently released from prison, arrives in London searching for his former mentor in faith, Father Brendan. Sheamy becomes romantically involved with Londoner, Katie, a survivor of rape who wants to get her sex life up and running again! As their relationship develops, Katie's demons are laid to rest but Sheamy's explode. Sheamy reveals that he was sexually abused as a boy by Father Brendan, but frames it as a 'great love'. Katie appalled leaves him. Sheamy facing the truth goes crazy and branding Father Brendan a hypocrite attacks him in a church while Fr Brendan is saying Mass. He is arrested and again is set to return to prison. Is Sheamy trapped, doomed by past, fate – or can he finally find justice?

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Luke fancies Mandy, Mandy fancies Harry, Harry fancies Helen and Helen fancies anyone. Mandy fancies (unconsciously, of course). This is a film about friendships and relationships and how they keep coming in the way of each other.

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Hunger follows life in the Maze prison, Northern Ireland with an interpretation of the highly emotive events surrounding the 1981 IRA hunger strike, led by Bobby Sands. With an epic eye for detail, the film provides a timely exploration of what happens when body and mind are pushed to the uttermost limit.

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'identities' charts the multicoloured, multicultural transgender community in Ireland. Five personal stories give shape to the vibrant, parallel worlds of Transvestism, Transsexualism, Drag, Sexual identity, and Gender Dysphoria. Intercutting black and white interviews with fly on the wall footage, each character's daily experience is laid bare. Vivid art performances offer more abstract and deeply personal self-representation. Opening our eyes to the potential of existing in fantasy, reality is thrown into sharp relief. At its heart, this is a film about the human spirit. Overcoming stereotype and categorisation, the gender construct breaks open, allowing personality and human emotion a path to expression.

Synopsis