Two Irish films are featuring as part of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which is currently underway in the Californian resort town. Tomm Moore’s Oscar shortlisted animation Song of the Sea has already played there, with Terry McMahon’s Patrick’s Day playing three dates from Thursday.
The festival attracts a large US and international audience, with around 135,000 attending. With Hollywood closeby actors like Brad Pitt, Clint Eastwood, Sean Penn, Dustin Hoffman, Anne Hathaway and Leonardo DiCaprio have all attended in the past.
Song of the Sea is Tomm Moore and Cartoon Saloon’s first feature length animation since he and they were Academy Award nominated for The Secret of Kells. The story follows Ben and his little sister Saoirse, the last selkie, who can transform from seals to people, and her journey to the sea, to find her voice and sing the “Song of the Sea” to save all of fairy kind from being lost forever.
An all-star voice cast features in the film, including Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, David Rawle, Lisa Hannigan, Pat Shortt, and Jon Kenny. The score comes from The Secret of Kells collaborators Bruno Coulais and the Irish band Kila.
Patrick’s Day is the story of a young man with mental health issues who falls for a suicidal flight attendant.
Since premiering at SXSW in March, Patrick’s Day has gone on to receive much critical acclaim, winning a host of awards including the Audience Awards at the Galway Film Fleadh and Cork Film Festival, The Maverick Award for Best Narrative Feature, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing at the Woodstock Film Festival, the Screen Directors’ Guild of Ireland Finders Series Award, and Best Actor and Best Screenplay at the Hell’s Half Mile Film and Music Festival in Michigan.
Wildcard Distribution will release Patrick’s Day in cinemas across Ireland on Friday, 6th February.