96 CinÉireann / January 2018
Supervized follows a group of former internationally renowned superheroes who are living out their twilight years in a retirement home in Ireland.
The all-star cast includes Tom Berenger (Inception, Training Day), Beau Bridges (Bloodline, Masters of Sex), and Louis Gossett Jr. (The Good Fight, Extant) as well as Irish stars Fionnuala Flanagan (The Guard, Song of the Sea), John Kavanagh (The Stag, Florence Foster Jenkins), and Lochlann O'Mearáin (Love & Friendship, Pilgrimage).
The film comes from director Steve Barron, who is an award-winning Irish film director, film producer and music video director. Credits include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Coneheads (1993) and the music videos for a-ha's "Take on Me" and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean".
SUPERVIZED
DIR: STEVE BARRON
PRO: MERLIN FILMS
SWEETNESS
IN THE BELLY
DIR: ZERESENAY MEHARI
PRO: PARALLEL FILMS
Irish actor and two-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan has signed on to play the lead role in Zeresenay Mehari's Sweetness in the Belly.
Ronan plays Lilly Addal, orphaned as a child, experiences her parents homeland of England, escaping civil war. She becomes the heart of a disenfranchised community in London, where she attempts to reunite people with their families. But her friend Amira discovers Lilly's mission isn't purely altruistic and a passionate lost love affair is revealed between Lilly and Aziz, an idealistic doctor.
The film sees Ronan reteam with producers Alan Moloney and Susan Mullen of Parallel Films, having worked together on Brooklyn. The film is also produced by Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny of Sienna Films.
JIHAD JANE: DANGEROUSLY SEEKING MARRIAGE
DIR: CIARAN CASSIDY
PRO: FASTNET FILMS
Jihad Jane: Dangerously Seeking Marriage is a documentary about three ‘fundamentalist terrorists’ seeking love and marriage in a one bedroom apartment in a small town in Ireland.
It is the first feature documentary film from director Ciaran Cassidy. He is best known for his short documentary The Last Days of Peter Bergmann, which premiered at Sundance and won prizes at Melbourne and Nashville, and his recent short documentary The Moderators, which premiered at SXSW. He has previously made the acclaimed radio documentary The Echo chamber, The story of Jihad Jane.
Jihad Jane, Dangerously Seeking Marriage is produced by Fastnet Films (Ireland), New Amsterdam Film Company (Netherlands), and Silver Films AB (Sweden).
Trade is the feature film adaptation of prolific Irish actor and screenwriter Mark O’Halloran's play of the same name, which is being directed by BAFTA-nominated director Hong Khaou (Lilting).
The film is the story of a young man searching for stability in the wake of his father’s death.
Dublin-based Marcie Films (Song of Granite) produces, with support from the Irish Film Board.
The stage version of Trade received its world premiere at 2011's Dublin Theatre Festival, where it was described as a "provocative and moving exploration of desire, morality and duty" by ThisIsPopBaby.
DIR: HONG KHAOU
PRO: MARCIE FILMS
TRADE