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9 months ago
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EXCLUSIVE: UK production and distribution outfit Swipe Films has recently completed post-production on under-the-radar feature documentary Quintessentially Irish, which it has sold globally to Vision Films (ex UK & Ire).
The film celebrates what it is to be Irish with celebrities and politicians offering their take on the Emerald Isle. It explores some of Ireland’s most beautiful sights and famous exports, including the origins of whiskey (which the Scottish also lay claim to), Guinness, horseracing, Gaelic sports and Ireland’s oldest inhabited castle at Dunsany.
Interviewees include Navan-born Pierce Brosnan, Bob Geldof, Andrew Scott, Sharon Horgan, Oscar winner Jeremy Irons, and Prince Albert II of Monaco, discussing the Irish heritage of his mother, the Oscar winning actress Grace Kelly.
Rory Guinness — the great-great-great grandson of Guinness founder Arthur Guinness, former Man Utd owner John Magnier, Grand National-winning jockey Rachael Blackmore, Celebrity Masterchef winner Riyadh Khalaf, and Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt are also interviewed.
The film has sold to Vision Films for North America and all other available international rights, excluding UK and Ireland. Vision will release in the U.S. theatrically and on VOD on March 12 ahead of St. Patrick’s Day. Swipe’s distribution arm will release in the UK and Ireland on April 26.
Irish President Michael D Higgins and U.S. President Joe Biden also feature. The filmmakers had exclusive access to the White House on St Patrick’s Day given that President Biden is a proud Irish-American whose family hail from County Mayo, as well as to the Palace of Monaco and the Presidential Mansion in Dublin during Biden’s State visit in April 2023.
The project is the third film directed by Frank Mannion after Sparkling: The Story of Champagne and sophomore documentary Quintessentially British featuring Ian McKellen and Judi Dench.
Executive producer is Oxana Popkova, produced by Mannion, edited by Charlie Emseis, and the composer is James Jones. The film is a Swipe Films production in association with Carlow Castle Films, Kasiyan Knockbeg Entreprises, CBS 1A1 Motion Picture Fund and Vision Films.
You can see a Vimeo promo clip for the project here.
Lise Romanoff, CEO/Managing Director of Vision said: “Quintessentially Irish is an unprecedented peek into the celebrity and history of Ireland. We are excited to release this fun and fact-filled documentary in time to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!”
Filmmaker Frank Mannion added: “Quintessentially Irish reflects the modern reality that Ireland is much more than cliched representations of leprechauns; the country has a renewed national self-confidence that is reflected in the thrilling mix of a new generation of artists and novelists, the inward investment brought in by the filming of Game of Thrones, Normal People, Banshees of Inisherin and Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the huge revenues pumped into the Irish economy by tech companies like Apple and Google. There are 23 million Americans who claim Irish heritage and six million Brits with an Irish grandparent. They are our target audience. I look forward to seeing what audiences make of this valentine to all things great and Irish. Hopefully audiences will feel that Quintessentially Irish is the perfect film to watch while raising a celebratory drink this St Patrick’s Day.”
