At Fishpond, it’s our pleasure to help casting directors to connect with top-tier actors, and seeing finished projects reach the big screen is incredibly satisfying. We’re wishing the very best to all the teams heading to the Galway Film Fleadh this week – well done, all.
If you’re heading to the fleadh yourself, be sure to check out the projects below that were cast with the help of Fishpond.
STUTTERBUG
Short Film (Irish Fiction 2)
“A stuttering man’s desperate attempts to conceal his disability lead him to insult sick children, ruin his shot with his college crush, and unwittingly hate crime her also-stammering brother.”
Director: Matthew Tallon
Casting: Letizia Delmastro
Starring: John Doran / Aidan Greene / Liadh Ho
Date: Thursday 9th July @ 09:30
Book here
NEWTOWN BOYS
Short Film (Irish Fiction 3)
“In Tramore, County Waterford, a young boy fostered out from a local convent discovers the meaning of adventure when he becomes part of the Rafferty family.”
Director: Niamh Bryson
Casting: Shauna Griffith
Starring: Leo Earley / Conor Thornton / Tara Breathnach
Date: Friday 10th July @ 09:30
Book here
LEARNING TO BREATHE UNDER WATER
Feature Film
“The Fleadh will host the Irish Premiere of Learning to Breathe Under Water – filmed on location in Galway. After the death of his mother, eight-year-old Leo’s (Ezra Carlisle) best friend is a massive shark that his dad (Rory Kinnear), an artist, built into the roof of their home.
Leo confides in the shark to process his peculiar new reality until a spirited au pair (Academy Award®-nominee Maria Bakalova) challenges him and his grieving dad to step out of their heads, and open themselves up to the wild, wonderful mess of real life.”
Director: Rebekah Fortune
Casting: Des Hamilton
Starring: Rory Kinnear / Maria Bakalova / Ezra Carlisle
Date: Friday 10th July @ 18:00
Book here
HOW TO DIVORCE DURING THE WAR
Feature Film
“Recently premiered at Berlinale, Irish co-production How to Divorce During the War follows high-flying executive Marija, who chooses the worst possible moment for an honest conversation with her husband, Vytas, about divorcing – just one day before Russia’s fullscale invasion of neighbouring country Ukraine.
Now the couple must navigate the process of separation as it collides with a refugee crisis, middle-class guilt, and their own mid-life crises.”
Director: Andrius Blaževičius
Casting: Andrius Blaževičius / Áine O’Sullivan
Starring: Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė / Marius Repšys / Amelija Adomaitytė / Indrė Patkauskaitė / Gintarė Parulytė
Date: Friday 10th July @ 20:45
Book here
A KNOCK AT YOUR DOOR
Short Film (Screen Ireland World Premiere Shorts)
“A young couple shelters an injured teen, but as a violent mob close in, they must face the hard truths about their own prejudices.”
Director: Alan Hopkins
Casting: Katy Moylan-Shorten
Starring: Jonathan Heed / Yemisi Oyinloye / Diarmuid Noyes
Date: Saturday 11th July @ 11.30
Book here
THE LOST CHILDREN OF TUAM
Feature Film
“We’re honoured to host the World Premiere of Frank Berry’s The Lost Children of Tuam. When amateur historian Catherine Corless begins examining records from a former Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co. Galway, she stumbles upon evidence pointing towards a deeply troubling past. Refusing to let the questions go, she embarks on a painstaking investigation, putting her in conflict with the Church, State, and local town.
As official resistance mounts, and unsettling discoveries emerge, her determination challenges powerful institutions, exposing a hidden chapter of Ireland’s past that many would rather keep hidden. From the award-winning team of director Frank Berry, writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Element Pictures, Big Red Films, El Paso Pictures and Port Pictures.”
Director: Frank Berry
Casting: Fiona Weir
Starring: Monica Dolan / Andrew Bennett / Ian McElhinney
Date: Saturday 11th July @ 20:20
Book here