Doineann now showing in Downpatrick’s Omniplex.
A thrilling first Irish language film ‘called Doineann’ produced by a Northern Ireland-based film house has been released in cinemas across Northern Ireland. Some of the scenes were shot in Downpatrick.
The first Irish language film to be filmed and produced in Northern Ireland is set to be released in cinemas across Ireland today, Friday 28 January.
Doineann, meaning ‘stormy weather’ in Irish, was produced by award-winning Belfast-based production house DoubleBand Films and is the feature debut from Damian McCann with the screenplay penned by upcoming local filmmaker, Aislinn Clarke.
Starring Love/Hate actor Peter Coonan, Bríd Brennan (Calm With Horses, Brooklyn), Clare Monnelly (Moone Boy) and Sean T. O’Meallaigh (Vikings), it tells the story of the disappearance of a woman and her baby on a remote Irish island. Her husband (Coonan) must put his trust in the island’s retired policewoman (Brennan) to help find his family before a storm hits the island.
Speaking ahead of the release, director Damian McCann said: “We are thrilled and excited that our feature film ‘Doineann’ can be experienced by Irish cinema audiences in the way we had always hoped from today.
“It is an incredibly proud moment to have produced Northern Ireland’s first Irish language feature film and have Gaeilge spoken on the big screen. We think the audiences will be thrilled and excited too.”
Since the film’s world premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh earlier this year it has gone on to screen at Newport Beach Film Festival in California, the Foyle Film Festival and the Belfast Film Festival where star Bríd Brennan was presented with the Reálta Award for Outstanding Contribution to Cinema.
DOINEANN was produced by Diarmuid Lavery, Christopher Myers and Michael Hewitt for the multi-award-winning film production company DoubleBand Films, with the support of the Irish Language Broadcast Fund, BBC Gaeilge and TG4.
The plot: Tomás is a successful television producer. Specialising in investigative journalism, over the years he has made many enemies in Dublin’s criminal underworld.
In search of peace and quiet, he and his wife Siobhan take their baby son Oisín to their holiday home on a remote island off the north-west coast of Ireland. There they keep to themselves, avoiding interaction with the islanders.
Early one morning, Tomás receives an urgent call from work and must return to the mainland, leaving Siobhan and Oisín on the island. Later that day he returns to find that they are both missing and, in desperation, seeks the help of the island’s retired policewoman, Labhaoise.
With warnings of an approaching storm, Labhaoise organises a search party of islanders. The next morning they make a grisly discovery – but it is not what they expected. Meanwhile, the storm is getting ever-closer to the island.
DOINEANN is being screened at the following cinemas:
OMNIPLEX DOWNPATRICK
QFT BELFAST.
