Irish Abroad: Cherry Tree to open FrightFest 2015

The organisers of Film4 FrightFest, the UK’s most renowned genre festival, have announced the opening and closing films for the 2015 festival.

The festival will open with the European Premiere of Irish director David Keating’s Cherry Tree. From Wake Wood director Keating, Cheery Tree see a young girl make a deal with the leader of a witches’ coven to save her father from a seemingly terminal illness.

The film, which is a co-production by MPI/Dark Sky Films and Ireland’s Fantastic Films, is written by Brendan McCarthy and stars Anna Walton (Hellboy II), Naomi Battrick, and Sam Hazeldine (Resurrection).

An Irish production has never opened FrightFest before, but numerous Irish films have been featured, including Dead Meat, Isolation, Dorothy Mills, Dark Touch, and The Canal. The organisers say that Cherry Tree follows in their fine tradition offering storytelling excellence, great production values and terrific casting, slathered with that appealing Emerald Isle quirkiness.

The festival will close with the European premiere of the anthology Tales of Halloween, which features work from directors Neil Marshall, Darren Lynn Bousman, Axelle Carolyn , Adam Gierasch, Lucky McKee, Dave Parker, Paul Solet, Mike Mendez, Andrew Kasch, Ryan Schifrin, and John Skipp.

Film4 Frightfest 2015 takes place in London’s West End at the Vue, Leicester Square, between August 27th and 31st.