RTÉ and the Irish Film Board have released the first of five online homegrown dramas made under the Storyland commissioning scheme. The five will be released every Monday from today, January 19th, via the RTÉ Player.
Almost 200 aspiring and experienced production teams pitched their ideas with five winning commissions to create four six minute episodes each to be broadcast online.
The first, Vincent Gallagher’s Broken Wishes, is a black comedy about death, friendship and good old-fashioned grave-robbing. Made by Deadpan Pictures the comedy stars Mark Doherty, Colum McDonnell, Barry Murphy, Dawn Bradfield, Morgan Jones, and Donncha Crowley.
This will be followed on January 26th by Aidan Largey’s Farr on January 26th, the story of a young police officer in Belfast, investigating the city’s most dangerous crime family, who becomes conflicted when the investigation may mean destroying his own career. Made by Stirling Film and Television Productions Farr stars Shaun Blaney, Ian Beattie, Gary Crossan, Stephanie Donaghue, Patrick Buchanan, and Patrick Molloy.
February 2nd sees the release of Brian Deane’s Dublin-set thriller Ctrl, the story of a brilliant young hacker, who must prove himself to an elite hacktivist group in order to gain their trust and help secure his freedom. Produced by Black Sheep Productions it stars Fionn Walton, Nick Lee, Elva Trill, and Matthew O’Brien.
Kieron J. Walsh’s sci-fi drama Rapt airs from February 9th,telling the story of Angela Smith, a paramedic who is left entirely alone when everybody in Dublin suddenly vanishes. Even her baby daughter has disappeared, but then she starts to receive mysterious messages and she realises there are even darker forces at work. A Blinder Films production Rapt stars Sarah Jane Seymour, Ciaran McMenamin, Lise Ann McLaughlin, and Leah Minto.
Finally Cork-based comedy/drama (R)onanism comes out on February 16th. This is the story of Ronan, a guy who’s involved in a romantic relationship with himself. Tadhg Hickey, Laura O’Mahony, Dominic Machale, and Paul Courtney star in this Fantastic Films production.
Storyland is an innovative commission of five new original dramas by RTÉ Drama and Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB). Now in its fifth season, it has proven to be a successful platform to bring fresh ideas to RTÉ and the IFB, identifying emerging creative talent for the TV and film industry in Ireland.