News

Exclusive: Eddie Marsan and Éanna Hardwicke are set to star in upcoming Irish thriller No Ordinary Heist, inspired by the largest cash heist in UK and Irish history.

Colin McIvor (Zoo) will direct from a script he co-wrote with debut screenwriter Aisling Corristine with filming expecting to begin in January across locations in Dublin and Belfast.

Inspired by true events that took place in Belfast in December 2004, No Ordinary Heist weaves a gripping fictional tale of two bank employees thrust into a chilling scheme. Forced to orchestrate a £26.5M ($33.8M) robbery to save their family, they are made to execute the crime without the gang ever stepping foot inside the bank.

McIvor is best known for Toby Jones and Penelope Wilton starrer Zoo while Corristine is an alumnus of BBC Voices.

No Ordinary Heist marks the first feature project from...

Fast-rising and BAFTA-nominated Irish star Éanna Hardwicke is set to play Manchester United and Ireland soccer legend Roy Keane in upcoming Irish feature “Saipan,” Variety can reveal. Hardwicke will be joined by two-time Oscar nominee Steve Coogan, who will star as Mick McCarthy, the former Ireland soccer manager with whom Keane had an infamous falling out.

“Saipan” is being directed by Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa — the duo behind the critically-lauded 2013 Irish comedy-drama “Good Vibrations” and the 2019 romance “Ordinary Love,” starring Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville — working from an original script by Paul Fraser (“Dead Man’s Shoes”), with production set to start this summer.

The film’s title comes from the infamous so-called “Saipan Incident” in 2002, when Keane was captaining the Irish national side ahead of the FIFA World Cup finals in Japan. While preparing on the tiny island of Saipan, the soccer star — known for his hot-headed temperament...

European Film Promotion has revealed the 10 emerging actors who will take part in the 27th edition of European Shooting Stars program, which promotes European acting talent. Past Shooting Stars have included Carey Mulligan, Alicia Vikander, Maisie Williams and Riz Ahmed.

From Feb. 16-19, the actors will be presented to the international press and industry, and the German public at the Berlin Film Festival. One of the highlights will be the Shooting Stars Awards Ceremony on Feb. 19 at the Berlinale Palast.

The Shooting Stars for 2024 are Belgium’s Thibaud Dooms, Bulgaria’s Margarita Stoykova, France’s Suzy Bemba, Georgia’s Salome Demuria, Germany’s Katharina Stark, Ireland’s Éanna Hardwicke, Italy’s Valentina Bellè, Lithuania’s Džiugas Grinys, Poland’s Kamila Urzędowska and Sweden’s Asta Kamma August.

The jury that selected the actors comprised of Austrian director, screenwriter and producer Barbara Albert, Lithuanian producer Živilė Gallego, Irish actor Moe Dunford,...

European Film Promotion has announced the 10 up-and-coming European acting talents for its 2024 European Shooting Stars list.

The actors, which include performers from this year’s award-season contenders Poor Things, Ferrari, and The Peasants, among others, will be lauded at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, next year.

The Shooting Stars class of 2024 includes:

Suzy Bemba (France) Suzy Bemba in ‘Homecoming’

French actress Suzy Bemba, who plays a Parisian sex worker who befriends Emma Stone’s character in Poor Things, and whose credits include standout roles in Anthony Chen’s Sundance film Drift and Catherine Corsini’s Homecoming.

Valentina Bellè (Italy) Valentina Bellè in ‘The Good Mothers’

Valentina Bellè from Italy, who plays Cecilia Manzini in Michael Mann’s Ferarri, won Italy’s Nastro D’Argento award for best supporting actress for her turn in Disney+ mafia drama The Good Mothers and has appeared in Disney+ series Genius: Picasso with...

10-strong line-up includes Italian actress Valentina Bellè and Irish actor Éanna Hardwicke.

European Film Promotion (Efp) has revealed the ten young European talents selected for the 27th edition of European Shooting Stars, its initiative to showcase promising on-screen talent from the continent.

Efp has selected seven actresses and three actors who will be presented to international press, industry, and the public during the 2024 Berlin Film Festival.

The line-up includes Italian actress Valentina Bellè who starred in two competition films at Venice this year: Michael Mann’s Ferrari and Lubo by Giorgio Diritti. She also plays the leading role in Disney + series The Good Mother,...

Film has £15.8m including the Bank Holiday Monday.

Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (May 5-May 7) Total gross to date Week 1. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (Disney) £12.1m £15.8m 1 2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal) £1.3m £50m 5 3. Evil Dead Rise (Studiocanal) £493,732 £4.6m 3 4. The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry (eOne) £336,000 £2.2m 2 5. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) £195,057 £17.1m 7

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.26

Disney’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 opened top of the UK-Ireland box office chart this weekend with a powerful £12.1m start – the highest opening of the year to date, and just behind the £13.1m of the second Guardians film.

Paul Mescal and Sharon Horgan were among the winners at the Irish Film and Television Awards.

Despite Colin Farrell losing out the best actor award to Mescal, “The Banshees of Inisherin” beat out competitors to win best film. In the international category “All Quiet on the Western Front” took home the top award on Sunday night.

Read on for the full list of winners.

Film Categories

Best Film

“Aisha”

“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Winner

“God’s Creatures”

“Lakelands”

“Róise & Frank”

“The Wonder”

Director – Film

“Aisha” – Frank Berry – Winner

“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Martin McDonagh

“It Is In Us All” – Antonia Campbell Hughes

“Joyride” – Emer Reynolds

“Let the Wrong One In” – Conor McMahon

“Róise & Frank” – Rachael Moriarty & Peter Murphy

Script – Film

“Aisha” – Frank Berry – Winner

“The Banshees of Inisherin” – Martin McDonagh

“God’s Creatures” – Shane Crowley

“Joyride” – Ailbhe Keogan

“Let the Wrong One In” – Conor McMahon

“Róise & Frank” – Rachael Moriarty,...

‘Return To Seoul’, ‘Pamfir’ also in cinemas.

Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) title Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 opens in 705 cinemas this weekend, and will look to continue the increase in takings from the first to the second film.

The third standalone Guardians film sees Peter Quill rally his team to defend the universe, in a mission that could mean the end of the group.

Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff all return with Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and Maria Bakalova in voice roles, with Screen Star of Tomorrow 2013 Will Poulter new to the cast as Adam Warlock,...

Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ruled the U.K. and Ireland box office collecting £3.06 million ($3.8 million) in its fourth weekend for a total of £45.7 million, per numbers from Comscore.

In its second weekend, Studiocanal’s “Evil Dead Rise” earned £1.05 million in second place for a total of £3.3 million.

There were a couple of strong debuts in the top five. eOne’s “The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry” bowed in third place with £784,698, while Dg Tech’s Tamil-language magnum opus “Ponniyin Selvan: 2,” also released in the Telugu and Hindi languages, debuted in fourth position with £618,244. Rounding off the top five, in its fifth weekend, was eOne’s “Dungeons And Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” with £575,796.

The other debut in the top 10 was Universal’s “Polite Society,” which bowed in ninth place with £220,278.

Mubi’s “One Fine Morning” added £21,671 and now has a total of £239,856.

Among the upcoming releases, the biggest...

The Irish Film And TV Academy (IFTA) have revealed this year’s nominees for the Screen Ireland – IFTA Rising Star award.

The five nominees are Aoife McArdle (Director – Severance), Danielle Galligan (Actor – Lakelands), Daryl McCormack, Éanna Hardwicke (Actor – Lakelands), and Kathryn Ferguson (Director – Nothing Compares).

Previous winners of the IFTA Rising Star Award include Saoirse Ronan, Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson, John Michael McDonagh, Sarah Greene, Gerard Barrett, and Jamie Dornan.

Announcing the nominees, the Irish Academy said this year’s group of Rising Stars represents a new “vanguard of the next wave of Irish Screen Talent.”

“Ireland has recently enjoyed a record-breaking year in terms of film and television production. The past year saw Irish directors, writers, producers, cast, and crew create world-class stories that have engaged audiences around the globe,” the statement read.

Selected by a special jury, the winner...

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, led the nominations for the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs) as the full list of nominees was unveiled on Monday night local time, picking up 11 nods in the film category.

“Bad Sisters” – Sharon Horgan’s Apple TV+ mystery series – led the pack in the drama category with 12 noms.

Coming off the back of a stellar year for Irish film and television, the nominations include a number of familiar names and titles, including Paul Mescal, who has been nominated for best lead actor in a film for “Aftersun” and best supporting actor in a film for “God’s Creatures” while Farrell is also competing in both categories, both for his star turn in “Banshees” and his supporting role as Penguin in “The Batman.”

“Conversations with Friends” has also scored noms in multiple categories while Aoife McArdle is up for best drama...

Apple’s comedy series Bad Sisters and Martin McDonagh’s latest feature, The Banshees of Inisherin, lead this year’s Irish Film And TV Academy Award nominations (IFTAs). Scroll down for the complete list.

Bad Sisters leads across film and TV with 12 nominations, including Best Drama, Lead Actress (Sharon Horgan), Director (Dearbhla Walsh), and four nods in Supporting Actress for Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Eve Hewson, and Sarah Greene.

The Banshees of Inisherin clocked 11 nominations, including Best Film as well as Best Director and Screenplay for Martin McDonagh. Colin Farrell, Barry Keoghan, Brendan Gleeson, and Kerry Condon also pop up in the acting categories.

Irish filmmaker Frank Berry’s latest pic Aisha trails Bad Sisters and Banshees with ten nominations. The film follows a young Nigerian woman, played by Letitia Wright, who struggles to navigate the asylum system in Ireland.

Paul Mescal also picked up two nominations: The first in...

’The Banshees Of Inisherin’ has 11 nominations including best film, director and actor.

Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees Of Inisherin leads the way at the 2023 Irish Film And Television Academy (IFTA) awards with 11 nominations.

The film earned nods for best film, director and script, lead actor for Colin Farrell, supporting actress for Kerry Condon, and supporting actor for Barry Keoghan and Brendan Gleeson. Farrell also has a supporting actor nod for The Batman.

Scroll down for film nominations

Frank Berry’s immigration drama Aisha, starring Letitia Wright and Josh O’Connor, is next up with 10 nominations including best film.

Paul Mescal has...

With just a few days until the 2023 Oscars, hot contender The Banshees of Inisherin has been given a boost on home soil.

Martin McDonagh’s period tragicomedy — which has nine Academy Award nominations (an all-time Irish record) — has now landed the most film nods this year for the Irish Academy Awards.

Announced by the Irish Film & TV Academy (IFTA), Banshees has 11 nominations, including best film and, as with the BAFTAs and Oscars, the film has been nominated in all of the performance categories for its main cast of Colin Farrell (who also got a nod for supporting actor for The Batman), Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon. Banshees‘ 11 nominations is the same number in 2022 amassed by Irish-language drama The Quiet Girl, which is now also in contention for an Oscar in the international category.

Further down the list, Frank Berry’s immigration drama Aisha — starring Letitia Wright and Josh O’Connor — landed 10 nominations.

A small story about a big event in one man’s life, Lakelands is a carefully tuned, low key piece of cinema with fine work from all involved. It’s the story of a Gaelic football player who sustains a life-changing injury, but it’s also a commentary on what it means to be a man in a society where masculinity is understood almost exclusively in terms of the physical, and on the new direction which Ireland is finding for itself as the world changes.

Éanna Hardwicke plays Cian, the best player in his team and constantly under pressure because of it. Gaelic football is more than just a game to him, and more than just a chance to make something if his talent – it’s the only real opportunity available at all in his remote rural location. The alternative is labouring all day just to scratch a living on the family dairy farm,...