Claire Dix’s Sunlight will premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival on Tuesday 7 March, before hitting British and Irish theatres later this year.
Previously, the two-time IFTA-nominated director worked in both short fiction and documentary. Her debut feature-length doc, Broken Song, won the Audience Award at the Dublin International Film Festival in 2013, and in more recent times, her shorts have garnered several awards on the international festival circuit.
Her new effort is penned by Ailbhe Keogan (Joyride, Run & Jump [+]), who already worked with Dix on her short Take Me Swimming. The feature stars Barry Ward (Extra Ordinary [+], Dating Amber [+]), Liam Carney (Braveheart, The Commitments) and Maureen Beattie (the series Outlander and Doctor Who) in the leading roles. Described by the creative team as an “emotional, uplifting heart warmer”, the picture follows former addict Leon (Ward), who loves his best friend Iver (Carney) more than anything else in the world. Iver’s the reason he’s clean and romping about the place like a wild pinball. So when Iver gets a terminal diagnosis and decides to leave this Earth early, Leon’s not about to let him go without a fight, even if it means being a royal pain in the arse. He forces Iver to agree to one last day in Dublin, hoping to convince him to live. Will he succeed? The outcome knocks both of them off course: some things are so wrong they’re right…
Sunlight is being produced by Roisin Geraghty for Blinder Films (Love & Friendship [+], The Racer [+], Dix’s previous short Take Me Swimming), with funding from Screen Ireland’s POV Female Creative Talent Scheme. It is being executive-produced by Katie Holly and Yvonne Donohoe for Blinder Films, and Lesley McKimm and Niamh Fagan for Screen Ireland. On 27 January, Wildcard Distribution announced its acquisition of the film, which will be released in Irish and UK cinemas later this year.
In the official press release published by Screen Ireland, Dix commented on the upcoming Glasgow premiere and Wildcard Distribution’s acquisition: “This film was a labour of love and a treasured experience for me, personally. It’s fantastic to be working with all the people at Wildcard, who have been brilliant partners in bringing our film to audiences. Myself and the whole Sunlight team are very excited about our international premiere at Glasgow. We already have a Scottish connection with our wonderful cast, so it feels like the perfect place to premiere.”
