AN IRISH DIRECTOR’S debut film has been selected for the prestigious Director’s Fortnight at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Sci-fi film Last Day on Mars, directed by Ruairí Robinson, is one of 21 films chosen as part of the lineup for the annual sidebar at Cannes next month.
Robinson was nominated for an Oscar in 2002 for Best Animated Short Film. Last Day on Mars is his first full-length film and was part-funded by the Irish Film Board and the British Film Institute.
The film stars Liev Schreiber, Olivia Williams and Romola Garai and is about a crew of astronauts who make a major scientific discovery while carrying out research on Mars – but then one by one succumb to a mysterious force.
Ruairí Robinson said it was a “very exciting and wonderful endorsement of the creative talents of my cast and crew,” adding:
My head just exploded.
A number of other Irish films have been selected for the Director’s Fortnight in the past, including the Lenny Abrahamson-directed Garage. Sofia Coppola, Werner Herzog, Michael Haneke and Spike Lee all had their debut films selected for Director’s Fortnight over the past three decades.
The full list of films in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight:
Above the Hill – Raphael Nadjari
Les Apaches – Thierry De Peretti
Ate ver a luz – Basil Da Cunha
Blue Ruin – Jeremy Saulnier
The Congress – Ari Folman
La Danza de la realidad – Alejandro Jodorowsky
L’Escale – Kaveh Bakhtiari
La Fille du 14 Juillet – Antonin Peretjako
Henri – Yolande Moreau
Ilo Ilo – Anthony Chen
Jodorowsky’s Dune – Franck Pavich
Last Days on Mars – Ruairi Robinson
Les Garçons et Guillaume, à table! – Guillaume Gallienne
Magic Magic – Sebastian Silva
On the Job – Erik Matti
The Selfish Giant Clio Barnard
Tip Top – Serge Bozon
Ugly – Anurag Kashyap
Un voyageur – Marcel Ophuls
El verano de los peces voladores – Marcela Said
We Are What We Are – Jim Mickle
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