Project Detail

Mickey B

Geoff Gillam, Simon Wood

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.

Details

Year: 2010
Type of project: Features
Running time: 62 mins
Director: Tom Magill 1st Feature
Editor: Dean Hagan
Screenwriter: Sam McClean, Jason Thompson, Tom Magill
Director of Photography: Angus Mitchell
Production Designer: Lisa Stewart
Sound: Simon Wood
Composer: Dean Hagan
Principal cast: David Conway, Jason Thompson, Sam McClean, Robert Flanagan

Genre

Experimental Northern Irish Literary Adaption Drama

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

ESC Ltd

Managed Workspace
109-113 Royal Avenue
Belfast BT1 1FF
Northern Ireland
UK

T+44 (0) 28 9024 3338

www.esc-film.com

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After C. P. Cavafy. Dedicated to the body, to remembering, to forgetting. When blinded, the senses can cross-pollinate so that they become more closely bonded. Likewise, they can also disassociate and lose contact with each other. Desire transforms things into other things. The erotics of absence and suggestion direct attention away from the materialism of pornography. Longing is described through cinematic space as distance and proximity. Official Selection International Film Festival Rotterdam 2026 - World premiere

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