Deadline is reporting that director Phil Sheerin and writer David Turpin’s new Irish genre film The Winter Lake has found its cast ahead of being offered to buyers at the European Film Market at Berlinale.
British actor Anson Boon (The Alienist) will take the lead alongside Irish actors Charlie Murphy (Peaky Blinders) and Michael McElhatton (Game of Thrones), and French-British star Emma Mackey, who features in Netflix hit Sex Education.
Alienated and wistful, Tom (Boon) has relocated from the UK to Ireland , with his Irish-born mother, Elaine (Murphy). While exploring the dilapidated farm, Tom comes across the farms turlough (a seasonal lake),at the bottom of which he discovers the skeleton of an infant .Not long afterwards he and Elaine become involved with Ward (McElhatton) and Holly (Mackey), the father and daughter from then neighbouring farm. While Elaine makes tentative steps towards a relationship with Ward ,Holly learns of Tom’s secret discovery. Inexorably the network of lies and secrets begins to unravel pulling Tom into a violent confrontation with the darkest parts of human nature.
The Winter Lake sees producers Ruth Treacy and Julianne Forde of Tailored Films reteam with their The Lodgers partners Epic Pictures Group, a film that was also written by Turpin. The film is co-produced by Anne-Marie Gelinas of Canada’s EMAfilms, with funding from Screen Ireland, Epic Films Group, Telefilm Canada, the WRAP Fund, and Creative Europe.
In addition to executive producing Epic will also be selling the film at EFM, with Filmoption already securing Canadian rights.
The Winter Lake is scheduled to begin principal photography in the west of Ireland on February 18th.