The 5th Underground Cinema Film Festival hits Dun Laoghaire this weekend, promising four days of Irish and international feature films, as well as a host of short films. The festival gets under-way from 12pm on Thursday, September 11th, but officially opens with the screening of Garret Daly and Martina McGlynn’s beautiful period drama A Nightingale Falling at 7pm, with the cast and crew in attendance.
The film is a historical period drama set in Ireland during the War of Independence, and tells the story of two sisters who, against the backdrop of war, take in a wounded British soldier, causing tension within and a fear of discovery from without. What follows is a moving and elegant story of love, loss, passion, and betrayal.
A Nightingale Falling is based on the novel by PJ Curtis, and stars Tara Breathnach, Muireann Bird, and Gerard McCarthy headlining. The film also stars Elliot Moriarty, Brian Fortune, Andy Kellegher, Rosemary Henderson, Michael James Ford, Mark Tankersley, Blathniad Purcell, and Maura Clancy.
The score for the film was written by Donegal born composer Graeme Stewart . The Ulster Orchestra has recorded the full, feature length score and it joins only a handful of film scores recorded entirely in Ireland.
A Nightingale Falling opens at IMC Cinemas across the country on Friday, September 12th. Booking for UCFF and the nationwide release is now open.