Screenwriter tipped to take Cannes Fim Festival by storm
Sean Ryan whose film Choices will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival
A FILM by a screenwriter from Slieverue will be shown on the silver screen at the opening day of the Cannes Artisan Film Festival on Thursday.
The man behind the film, Sean Ryan explained how his fortunes changed in recent years. “I was working in IT but lost my job in 2010 because of the global downturn. Now I stay home and take care of the children. This has it’s advantages and it gives me more time to write,” he said. Sean is hoping to get to Cannes in time to see his film on the big screen. “The actor and producer are flying over from LA. I am hoping to go so fingers crossed I’ll get there,” he said.
The short film ‘Choices’ is a dark tale of loss, mental illness and revenge that follows the tragic life of Ian Chance, played by Gene Loveland. Ian is a shattered man trying to come to terms with the loss of his daughter who was killed by a drunk driver. Ian makes a choice to turn his grief into revenge and seek out the man who took his daughter from him. But everything is not as it seems, as the layers of the story are peeled back to reveal multiple twists in the tale and the truth behind the tragedy.
The story was written and conceived by Sean and inspired by classic film and television as well as real life. “It was inspired by movie classics such as Memento, and the Fisher King as well as an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents called “Revenge” that my late father had once told me about, but I hadn’t seen till years later.” he said.
Sean made contact with star/producer Gene Loveland in Los Angeles which led to them working together on the film with producer Gabriel Schmidt and director/actor, Michael J Kirkland. Funds for the production were raised on the filmmaking community website Kickstarter.com and the film was shot on location in Los Angeles. The final cut of the film was screened for the first time in March 2012 in Los Angeles, with all of the cast and crew present. The film has already been selected for several other film festivals in Texas, Toronto and New York as well as Cannes.
“I am always proud when one of my scripts is produced and you get to see what once was just a blank page evolving into a film. It is also a pleasure to see everyone’s hard work validated. Making independent films is not easy, especially with the constraints of our modern economies. The odds are always stacked against you, but I have always been a believer that hard work will always be rewarded. Hopefully the Cannes screening will increase exposure for everyone involved in this film and gain some traction for other projects that are currently under development.” he said. Sean is currently working on a several feature film screenplays and has secured literary representation for his writing. ‘Choices’ is a Swimming Wings Production and the teaser trailer for the film can be viewed on Facebook under ‘Choices Movie’.
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Wednesday 19 June 2013
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