Waking the Witch

description

"Are you a witch, are you a fairy, are you the wife of Michael Cleary?'.

About the Film...

Marianne is a teenager killing time on her summer holidays by accompanying her uncle on a research trip, delving into the life and death of Bridget Cleary, the last witch burned in Ireland. Marianne is also dealing with the memory of a traumatic incident, and the effort of repressing it is causing psychological schisms.

Marianne, instead of confronting her problems, immerses herself in preparations for the midsummer festival. She's intrigued by the bohemian lifestyle of her uncle and his friends, and captivated by a young artist she encounters. As the fractures in reality increase in frequency, she starts to sense that she has more in common with Cleary than she'd like.

With influences such as The Innocents and The Fog, this psychological thriller will have a unique tone. It combines careful observation of the characters with the unnerving possibility of an unseen force at work, guiding the hand of fate towards the final brutal outcome.

We've already shot the opening act of the film, and the money raised will go towards shooting the rest of it. We'll be fundraising separately for additional postproduction costs. Below is a link to our work in progress. We hope it leaves you wanting more!

vimeo.com

If support from other sources is achieved and the film is completed, everyone who pledges will also receive a link to a digital download of the film.

About the Maker

Neil O'Driscoll studied animation in Ballyfermot Senior College, then crafts in Grennan Mill, Co. Kilkenny, before completing a degree in film and TV at Edinburgh College of Art. He works in film, theatre and illustration for visual and musical artists such as Sam Lee, Bridget O'Gorman, Deaf Joe, Alex Chinneck, September Girls, Katie Kim and Solar Taxi. Neil currently illustrates the comic book Big Bastard as well as undertaking freelance work for companies such as The Abbey, Chill Insurance, Glenmuir and The Irish Sports Council.

Here's some of our cast / crew

Mollie Molumby ('Marianne')
Mollie is a Dublin native completing her final year of Drama at Trinity. She has appeared in numerous theatrical productions and enjoys directing, too.

Emer O'Carroll ('Fran')
Emer lives in Galway and works in theatre, also doing a stint as a series regular on TG4's Ros na Rún.

Marcus Lamb ('Dave')
Marcus recently appeared in The New Theatre's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and as Dessie O'Malley in the miniseries 'Citizen Charlie'.

Bridget O'Gorman (Art Director)
Bridget is a visual artist who has exhibited work in Ireland and the UK.

James Keating (Assistant director)
James has his own production company, Landsleaving Media, as well as writing for radio

Neil Hynes (sound recordist)
Neil is based in Clare and has just won the ICCL Human Rights Film Award, hurrah!


cargocollective.com/neilodriscoll
vimeo.com
www.facebook.com/wakingthewitchfilm