We continue our series of posts on the films at 2015 Galway Film Fleadh, taking a look at Johnny O’Reilly’s Irish/Russian co-production Moscow Never Sleeps. The film screens Saturday July 11th, at 10pm in the Town Hall Theatre.
The film is a multi-threaded-narrative set on Moscow city Day, the Russian capital’s holiday, and follows the lives of three people, a troubled businessman, a Soviet film star who has become an abandoned pensioner, and a singer searching for her true self.
Moscow Never Sleeps is the second Russian-language feature by O’Reilly, who has lived in Moscow for two decades. His first was 2010’s The Weather Station.
The film stars Leviathan lead Alexey Serebriakov, Yuri Stoyanov, and Artur Smoilaninov, as well as newcomers Rustam Akhmadeyev, Yevgenia Brik, and Anastasia Shalonko.
The film was the first Russian film to receive funding from Eurimages, a cultural support fund run by the Council of Europe. The film also received Russian private equity funding, as well as financing from the Irish Film Board, the Irish Section 481 Tax incentive, and AI Film.
Moscow Never Sleeps is produced by O’Reilly, Andrey Zakharov of Russia’s Snapshot Films and Katie Holly from Blinder Films . Post-production took place at Windmill Lane.
Moscow Never Sleeps has its Irish Premiere on Saturday July 11th, at 10pm in the Town Hall Theatre. Director Johnny O’Reilly will attend the screening.