Berlinale title ‘Christy’ sells across Europe, including Pyramide in France, for Charades

EXCLUSIVE: Charades has locked in a slew of European deals, including Pyramide in France, for Irish filmmaker Brendan Canty’s Christy, following its world premiere opening the Generation 14plus competition at the Berlinale.

Futher deals include Lumiere Publishing (Benelux), Transilvania (Romania), Angel Films (Scandinavia), Weirdwave (Greece) and airlines (Aardwolf).

As previously announced, Altitude and Wildcard will be releasing in cinemas in the UK-Ireland later this year.

Christy was awarded the Grand Prix by the Berlinale Generation 14plus international jury, and is based on Canty’s short film of the same name and follows a 17-year-old after he’s thrown out of his suburban foster home and moves in with his estranged older half-brother in Cork.

The cast includes Danny Power, Emma Willis and Chris Walley, alongside Alison Oliver, Diarmuid Noyes and Helen Behan.

The film draws on the lived experience of young people in Cork, and much of the ensemble cast comes from Kabin Studio in Cork, a non-profit community space, that was behind summer viral hit song The Spark.

UK producer Marina Brackenbury produces with Meredith Duff of the UK’s Wayward Films, and Rory Gilmartin of London and Dublin-based Sleeper Films. Christy was funded by BBC Film and Screen Ireland.

Canty’s previous work as director includes short film For You starring Barry Keoghan and the music video for Hozier’s Take Me To Church.

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