Press Release: New Irish feature film THE GUARANTEE shooting in Dublin this week
This week will see shooting in Dublin for a new feature film The Guarantee in association with TV3, the Irish Film Board and the BAI. The film will then be brought to Irish cinemas this Autumn with TV3 broadcasting the film in November.
The film surrounds some of the most important political points in Irish history, when the Irish government decided to guarantee the entire domestic banking system. This is the first time that this story has been told on the big screen and shows the makings behind that one decision and follows the developments through the peak of the tiger to the beginning of the bust.
The Bank guarantee was one of the most significant decisions in modern Ireland when the government decided to guarantee the entire domestic banking system. The decision was made by a handful of men in a room in the middle of the night. It was quickly to become the most expensive bank rescue in history. The drama covers the story of how the Irish government ignored the signs from abroad and from its own and failed to rein in the property market. As the drama continues it shows the key players struggling to come to terms with the consequences that unfold as a result of their decision and watch the Irish economy collapse. Other characters come and go, but these are the key decision makers. The film moves quickly between locations, moving ever quicker towards the night itself, as it charts the end of the boom and the onset of the global financial crisis. Other characters come and go, but these are the key decision makers. The film moves quickly between locations, moving ever quicker towards the night itself, as it charts the end of the boom and the onset of the global financial crisis.
Written by Colin Murphy and based on the stage play The Guarantee, Director Ian Power (The Runway) brings together Peter Coonan (Love/Hate) as former Anglo Irish Bank Chief Exectuve David Drumm, and David Murray ( Amber )as Brian Lenihan with Kate Walsh, Sean Fitzpatrick and Brian Cowen being played by Orla Fitzgerald, Morgan Jones and Gary Lydon.
Speaking about the production, director Ian Power said “The Guarantee is a story which covers the entire gamut of the human experience. That there is a hunger in Irish people to see a clear, unbiased version of this story I am in no doubt. I think they are owed that, and I think they will be surprised by the entertainment value of it – it’s a real roller coaster ride. In the past months I’ve watched every member of our wonderful cast and crew come on board with a sense that this job is different, that we are doing something important and special. It’s completely inspiring.”
Colin Murphy added “From a “tiny play” for Fishamble Theatre Company, to Fishamble’s national tour of the play Guaranteed!, to now filming The Guarantee… It’s been an exhilarating, but demanding journey with this story. It’s a thrill for me, as the writer, but it shouldn’t be any surprise, because this is the story that we’ve all been talking about for the past six years, it’s the story we all have opinions on, it is in short, our story. I wanted to use the stage and screen to open up debate about Irish politics to a wider audience – I hope that audiences are going to be provoked by this as much as entertained by it.”
It is a gripping drama of classical proportions, in which the tragic hero is Ireland. Like Cinderella, Ireland was the poor sister of Europe, who finally got a chance to go to the ball. But when she got there, she forgot herself; she stayed past midnight, and suddenly all her riches returned to rags.
