IRISH FILM PREVIEW 2018
CinÉireann / January 2018 35
DIR: FRANK BERRY
PRO: SUBOTICA
Michael Inside tells the story of Michael McCrea, an impressionable teenager who is sentenced to three months in prison after being caught holding a bag of drugs for his friend’s older brother. Inside, Michael is exposed to violence and intimidation and when he is released the film looks at how prison has affected his thinking and his behaviour.
Michael Inside sees writer/director Frank Berry once again working with Dafhyd Flynn, who gives a superb performance as Michael, after the pair previously worked together on the critically acclaimed I Used To Live Here. It also features strong performances from Lalor Roddy and Moe Dunford.
The film was shot in the recently decommissioned Cork Prison and in Dublin.
Berry and Donna Eperon produced for Write Direction Films, with Tristan Orpen
Lynch and Aoife O’Sullivan executive producers for Subotica. The film was made with the support of the Irish Film Board
.
Michael Inside had its world premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh, where it won the award for Best Irish Feature Film. It also received the Audience Award and two Honourable Mentions at the Cork Film Festival last November.
The film has a real authenticity to it as Berry spent 18 months heavily researching the film and workshopping with former prisoners from the Irish Prison Service's Pathways Programme. This depth of focus, coupled with Flynn's raw performance, Tom Comerford's claustrophobic camera, and Colin Campbell's tight editing ensure that the audience is there with Michael as he endures his ordeal. Some of the former prisoners also appear in the film as extras.
Wildcard Distribution will
release the film later this
year.
Q2