Paris-based mk2 Films is kicking off sales on Darren Thornton’s Ireland-set comedy-drama Four Mothers at the AFM this week.
The title is an Irish twist on Gianni Di Gregorio’s 2008 Italian hit Mid-August Lunch that won several awards including the Luigi De Laurentiis prize when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Thornton, whose previous credits include RTÉ comedy-drama series Love Is The Drug and his debut feature A Date For Mad Mary, penned the script with his brother Colin Thornton who also co-wrote the script for A Date For Mad Mary.
Four Mothers stars James McArdle as a novelist caring for his elderly mother Alma, played by Fionnula Flanagan. On the brink of literary success, his plans for a book tour are thwarted when three more women land on his doorstep and he is forced to juggle his burgeoning career with the care of four eccentric, combative and wildly different ladies.
The film is now in post and also stars Paddy Glynn, Dearbhla Molloy, and Stella McCusker.
Four Mothers is produced by Eric Abraham and Jack Sidey for the UK’s Portobello Films and Television and Martina Niland for Ireland’s Port Pictures. Backes include Screen Ireland, RTÉ and the Common Humanity Arts Trust. Mk2 Films will be sharing the script and first images at AFM.
“Darren and Colin Thornton have crafted a script that builds on the charm and warmth of Mid-August Lunch, expertly transposing the story to Ireland. It is a tender comedy that will resonate with audiences,” said mk2 Films managing director Fionnuala Jamison of the addition to mk2’s hefty market slate.
Thornton added: ”My brother Colin and I are huge fans of Gianni di Gregorio’s beautiful film Mid-August Lunch and were thrilled to have the opportunity to adapt it. We put a lot of ourselves into this story, having cared for our own mother. Conscious of all the heartbreak and humour that come from those responsibilities.”
Other market titles
The Paris-based production, distribution and international sales company will also be unveiling a promo reel for Sophie Barthes’ The Pod Generation starring Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
The UK pair star as a couple in a not-so-distant future who visit a high-tech fertility clinic to try to start a family where they are offered the option of taking an alternate route for their pregnancy, namely an artificial womb, or pod.
Mk2 Films is also unveiling new footage for two animated films set for release next year. The Inventor from director Jim Capobianco, who was Oscar-nominated as a co-writer of Pixar’s Ratatouille, tells the story of the extraordinary life of Leonardo da Vinci with an all-star voice cast including Stephen Fry, Daisy Ridley and Marion Cotillard.
Futuristic film noir Mars Express, which is about a private detective and her android partner on a mission to hunt down a notorious hacker and save the world, blends 2D and 3D animation and features exhilarating action sequences.
Also on mk2’s 2023 release slate are Molly Manning Walker’s How To Have Sex and Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon’s The Falling Star.
Other titles in final production stages include Olivier Babinet’s 1990s father-and-daughter drama Normal, Justine Triet’s Hitchcockian thriller Anatomy Of A Fall starring Sandra Hüller, and A Winter’s Journey, an adaptation of Franz Schubert’s classic song-cycle “Winterreise” painted by the animation artists behind Loving Vincent.
Mk2 Films is behind several titles that have swept this year’s festival circuit and continue to gain momentum heading into awards season. Among them are Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage which won Vicky Krieps the best actress prize in Cannes and is Austria’s pick for the international feature Oscar; Carla Simón’s Golden Bear-winner Alcarràs which is Spain’s submission; and Davy Chou’s Return To Seoul which is representing Cambodia.
No comments yet