Omagh film secures cinema deals

[Talon]

Omagh film secures cinema deals

An award-winning film based on the 1998 Omagh bomb has secured a distribution deal in several countries.

Pete Travis' Omagh, shown on television in the UK and Ireland in May, recently won awards at the Toronto and San Sebastian Film Festivals.

It stars Irish actor Gerard McSorley as campaigner Michael Gallagher, whose son Aidan, 21, was killed in the bombing.

The film will now be screened in Italy, France, Canada, Argentina, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

It has been shown at the Dinard Film Festival in northern France and will also feature at the Flanders and Stockholm Film Festivals.

The film examines the horrific events and appalling aftermath of the bombing, which killed 29 people and unborn twins in the County Tyrone town in August 1998.

Last month Omagh won the coveted Toronto Film Festival Discovery Award, voted by for by film critics from around the world.

The film's producer Ed Guiney said the distribution deals were good news.

He said: "We're delighted that the story of the Omagh Support Group is being brought to an international audience through these festivals and distribution deals.

'Stunning achievement'

"Obviously this is a story that resonates in today's world."

The Irish Film Board, which co-financed the movie, also welcomed its growing international profile.

"This is a stunning achievement for such an engaging and thought provoking film," said Moira Horgan, the board's head of marketing.

The production shows many of the victims, including the children who died, arriving in the town in the moments before the blast.

The cast was drawn from all parts of Ireland, north and south of the border, and includes Academy Award winner Brenda Fricker as well as Omagh-based Mr McSorley.

Omagh was jointly written by Guy Hibbert and Paul Greengrass, who were also behind an award-winning film about the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/ente...ilm/3708102.stm