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PRODUCTION / FUNDING Ireland

Irish-set adaptation of Mid-August Lunch, Four Mothers, now filming in Dublin

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- Based on Gianni Di Gregorio’s 2008 hit and helmed by Darren Thornton, the movie will star Fionnula Flanagan, James McArdle, Dearbhla Molloy, Paddy Glynn and Stella McCusker

Irish-set adaptation of Mid-August Lunch, Four Mothers, now filming in Dublin
Director Darren Thornton (© Darren Thornton)

Last week, Darren Thornton’s sophomore feature, Four Mothers, entered production in Dublin. The Irish director is best known for his debut film, A Date for Mad Mary [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, winner of the Award for Best Film at the 2017 Irish Film and Television Awards (see the news), and crowned Best Film at other gatherings such as Lecce, Galway and Brunswick.

Four Mothers is an Irish-set adaptation of Gianni Di Gregorio’s 2008 box-office hit Mid-August Lunch [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
. The main cast includes veterans such as Fionnula Flanagan and Olivier Award nominee James McArdle alongside Dearbhla Molloy (Wild Mountain Thyme [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, the TV soap opera Coronation Street), Paddy Glynn (Cinderella [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile
]
) and Stella McCusker (Nowhere Special [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Uberto Pasolini
film profile
]
, Boys from County Hell [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
).

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The original indie flick premiered at Venice, and was screened at festivals such as the Berlinale, Palm Springs, London and Karlovy Vary. It grossed almost €10 million at the box office. In this new version of the tale, McArdle plays a self-sabotaging novelist, saddled with caring for his mother (portrayed by Flanagan) after a stroke. After his book becomes an overnight hit, his plans for a US promotional tour are thrown into disarray when three more elderly women (Molloy, Glynn and McCusker) are deposited on his doorstep.

The script was penned by the director himself, together with his brother Colin Thornton, who also co-wrote the script for A Date for Mad Mary.

Four Mothers is being produced by Eric Abraham and Jack Sidey for Portobello Films and Television (Ireland), with Martina Niland, representing Port Pictures (Ireland). It received backing from Screen Ireland, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, RTÉ, the Section 481 tax credit and The Common Humanity Arts Trust.

The release date is yet to be disclosed.

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