Séana Kerslake and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor set for starring roles as Screen Ireland announce 2019 production catalogue

They include Sea Fever, a sci-fi thriller starring Hermoine Corfield, Dougray Scott and Connie Neilsen, which recently completed filming off the coast of Wicklow. The movie is written and directed by Irish filmmaker Nessa Hardiman, whose TV credits include Happy Valley and Jessica Jones, who spoke of her delight at working in her home country for the first time in almost a decade.

Actor Séana Kerslake and director Lee Cronin were present in advance of bringing their new psychological thriller, The Hole in the Ground, to Sundance next week.

The mystery, about a mother who suspects unusual behaviour from her young son is connected to the presence of a large sinkhole near the family home, opens in cinemas in March and is one of six Irish films making their debuts at the prestigious US film festival.

Documentary maker Emer Reynolds, whose Voyager space doc The Farthest won widespread critical acclaim, will return to the form with a film about rock legend Phil Lynott. Songs for While I’m Away will document the life, times and music of the Thin Lizzy frontman. It will go into production shortly.

Calm With Horses, which recently completed filming in the west of Ireland, will star Barry Keoghan as a former boxer who works as an enforcer for a drug-dealing family, while also raising his autistic son.

Hollywood star Jesse Eisenberg and British actress Imogen Poots will star in Vivarium, a thriller about a couple who become trapped in a vast housing development. Comedian Maeve Higgins will join Will Forte and Barry Ward in Extra Ordinary, a comedy about a sweet-natured driving instructor with supernatural abilities.

Other projects being backed by Screen Ireland include Rialto, a drama about a man grieving the death of his father and starring Love/Hate’s Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Wolfwalkers, the latest animated movie from award-winning Kilkenny animation studio Cartoon Saloon.

Filmmaking talent present at the launch included Ed Guiney, producer of The Favourite, which recently scored 12 BAFTA nominations and is likely to feature in next Tuesday’s Oscar nominations. Louise Bagnall, whose short film Late Afternoon is one of ten shortlisted for an Oscar, was also in attendance and further proof that Irish film talent is having a global impact on the entertainment industry.

In 2018, Screen Ireland invested €13.7m across 50 projects, including 21 feature films, generating approximately €40m return to the Irish exchequer, in terms of spend on local jobs and services.

The agency’s funding continues to be restored by Government, and for 2019 it has been allocated €16.2m in capital funding, up from €14.2m in 2018.

2019 is already off to a fantastic start with Irish projects embraced by Sundance, the Berlinale and SXSW,” said chief executive of Screen Ireland, James Hickey. “The coming year will present a diverse slate of new Irish films from new and established talent that is sure to delight, entertain and touch audiences both at home and abroad.

Mr Hickey will depart from his role this year and a recruitment process for his successor is currently underway. “It has been an honour and a privilege for me to serve Ireland’s film, TV and animation community since 2011. The intrinsic value of Irish storytelling on screen, to Irish culture, wellbeing, heritage and indeed the economy, can sometimes be underestimated but it is perhaps the most immediately evocative and transformative art form,” he said.