Lee Cronin’s debut Irish horror feature The Hole in the Ground has won Best Film at the 25th FANT: Festival de Cine Fantástico de Bilbao in Spain, beating 17 other films to win the prestigious award,
Trying to escape her broken past, Sarah O’Neill is building a new life on the fringes of a backwood rural town with her young son Chris. A terrifying encounter with a mysterious neighbour shatters her fragile security, throwing Sarah into a spiralling nightmare of paranoia and mistrust, as she tries to uncover if the disturbing changes in her little boy are connected to an ominous sinkhole buried deep in the forest that borders their home.
The film is Cronin’s feature debut,which he co-wrote with Stephen Shields, and stars Séana Kerslake (A Date For Mad Mary), James Quinn Markey (Vikings), James Cosmo (T2 Trainspotting), Simone Kirby (Jimmy’s Hall), Steve Wall (An Klondike) and Kati Outinen (Le Havre).
The Hole in the Ground shot on location in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow and was produced by Conor Barry and John Keville for Savage Productions with Benoit Roland and Ulla Simonen for Wrong Men and MADE. The film was funded by Screen Ireland, the BAI and Headgear Films with support coming from Wallimages and the Finnish Film Foundation.
The winners were chosen by a jury consisting of the American film director, screenwriter and producer Gary Sherman , the Director of Fancine – Fantastic Film Festival of Malaga Rocío Moreno ; and the actress Diana Peñalver .