Arracht to world premiere in competition at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival

Tom Sullivan’s Irish-language drama, Arracht (Monster), will world premiere in the main competition at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia next month.

The film is set at the beginning of the Great Hunger in 1845, and centres on a man (Dónall Ó Healaí) who loses everything and is accused of a murder. After being on the run for three years, he attempts to rebuild his life with the help of a mysterious girl. That is before his past comes back to haunt him.

Arracht is the debut feature of writer/director Tom Sullivan, best known for his acting work and his short films. The film is produced by Macalla Teo and funded by Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, TG4, and the BAI, with support from Section 481 under the Cine4 scheme.

I am honoured that our film will have it’s world premiere in the main competition at Tallinn. It has been a life changing experience making Arracht. From witnessing the commitment of the cast, particularly Dónall Ó Héalaí, who’s total dedication and immersion in his process inspired us all. To the crew, who battled three Atlantic storms, ‘with names,’ to bring Arracht home. We are all so excited to launch the film in the beautiful city of Tallinn along with so many talented film makers.
Tom Sullivan, Writer/Director

Arracht will compete for the Grand Prix for best film, which includes a grant of €10,000 shared by the director and producer, among other prizes for director, script, actor, actress, cinematographer and music. Fellow Cine4 project Finky will also play in Tallinn at the festival, competing for Best First Feature.

Black Nights Film Festival (aka PÖFF – Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival) takes place annually in the end of November in Tallinn, Estonia. It is the only FIAPF-accredited competitive feature film festival in Northern Europe. PÖFF is the one of the largest film festivals in Northern Europe. The festival, its sub-festivals and the audiovisual industry platform Industry@Tallinn hosted around 1200 film professionals and journalists in 2018.