Irish Abroad: Tyger, Tyger and Vivarium head to the Berlinale Co-Production Market

Two Irish films, Tyger, Tyger and Vivarium, have been chosen for the Berlinale Co-Production Market, which gets underway from February 14th.

The pair join a select group of 36 new feature film projects from 29 different countries which will strive to forge international co-production and financing partnerships. During the three-day event, producers have the chance to meet, in pre-arranged one-on-one meetings, interested potential partners from a participant pool composed of 500 producers and film financiers from all around the world.

From Savage Productions, Tyger, Tyger is to be directed by Mark Noonan who premiered his debut feature You’re Ugly Too at Berlinale in 2015. The film is about an unusual friendship that develops between a middle-aged detective and a young woman, as they team up to track down an escaped tiger on the north Dublin coast.

It’s great to be in development with the Irish Film Board on my next project, and it’s fantastic the Berlinale have chosen it for their co-production market. Berlinale were huge supporters of my first film You’re Ugly Too, and to have them backing Tyger, Tyger at this early stage is a terrific endorsement for the script and all the hard work John Keville and Conor Barry at Savage Productions have put into the project. I’m thrilled at the reaction to the script so far, and look forward to taking the next step and getting it into cinemas.
Mark Noonan – Tyger, Tyger – Director

Vivarium is produced by Fantastic Films and directed by Lorcan Finnegan, whose upcoming debut feature Without Name was funded under the IFB’s Catalyst Project. The film focuses on a young couple who follow a strange estate agent into a new development to look at a house. The development is brand new but completely devoid of life, and when they attempt to leave they soon find that they can’t find their way out of the maze of houses.

Previous Irish entries at the Berlinale Co-Production Market include Rebecca Daly’s Mammal in 2013, which has just debuted at the Sundance Film Festival to great acclaim.

The Berlinale Co-Production Market takes place in Berlin from February 14th to 16th. For more information, see the official website.