It’s an early Christmas for fans of Irish film as three Irish features release into Irish cinemas today: Richard Mark Elson’s A Christmas Star, Corin Hardy’s The Hallow, and Gerard Lough’s Night People.
Narrated by legendary Irish actor Liam Neeson, A Christmas Star is a heart-warming story of a spirited young girl who charms an entire village. The film is the first ever Irish Christmas movie, and features a cast of new, young Irish actors, many of whom helped in making the film.
The kids star alongside a crop of famous faces, including Pierce Brosnan, Bronagh Waugh, Richard Clements, Kylie Minogue, Robert James-Collier, and Julian Fellowes. The film was made to celebrate Cinemagic’s 25th Anniversary, and saw a host of film and television professionals lend their support to the ground-breaking film production. The project is supported by OFMDFM, Creative Skillset, Tourism Ireland, Aer Lingus, BBC NI, UTV, Department for Social Development, George Best Belfast City Airport and Arts & Business Northern Ireland. The film also used crowd-funding to receive its shooting budget.
Irish co-produced horror film The Hallow, directed by Corin Hardy, follows a London-based conservationist who moves to Ireland with his wife and baby, to survey an area of ancient forest believed by the superstitious locals to be hallowed ground. He unwittingly disturbs a horde of terrifying beings and must fight to protect his family.
The film stars Joseph Mawle (Ripper Street), Bojana Novakovic (Edge of Darkness), Michael McElhatton (Game of Thrones) and Michael Smiley (The World’s End). The Hallow was produced by Occupant Entertainment and Fantastic Films. It was funded by Prescience, Altus Media, Hyperion and Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board.
Opening in the Eclipse Cinema in Lifford is Night People, a horror/science-fiction anthology film which marks the feature film debut of Irish director Gerard Lough. The fim sees two high-tech thieves break into an abandoned house to pull off an elaborate insurance scam. But they get more then they bargained for when the building’s dark past comes back to haunt them. Their story gradually intertwines with three other sinister tall tales.
Night People stars Michael Parle, Jack Dean Shepard, and Claire Blennerhassett. Principal photography began on August 1st 2013 and ended on August 23rd 2014, having shot entirely on location in Donegal. Lough is an Irish filmmaker, best known for critically acclaimed short films such as the Stephen King adaptation The Boogeyman and the futuristic thriller Ninety Seconds.