SHOOTING has wrapped up on ‘Woken’, a psychological thriller filmed in Limerick and Clare with support from Innovate Limerick through its Film in Limerick initiative.
The film stars Erin Kellyman, whose previous credits include ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ and ‘The Green Knight’, and Maxine Peake who is best known for her roles in ‘Shameless’ ‘The Theory of Everything’ and ‘The Falling’.
Filmed over five weeks on location at the University of Limerick and West Clare the film is funded by Screen Ireland and produced by Fantastic Films, whose credits include ‘Vivarium’ and ‘Sea Fever’.
It marks the feature debut of Mayo director Alan Friel, who previously worked with Peake on his prize-winning 2017 short film ‘Cake.’
‘Woken’, which is also written by Friel, tells the story of a young woman who wakes up on a remote island without any memory and is forced to re-learn everything about herself, including her husband and the baby she is carrying. When two disfigured men arrive on the island, she comes to learn another terrifying truth.
Film in Limerick worked closely with the producers to bring the production to the region and assisted with locations, crewing and local permissions.
Paul C. Ryan, Regional Film Manager at Film in Limerick said it was brilliant to see so many independent features choosing the Mid-West as their filming location.
“The impact of such productions for the filming locations and the region in general is massive, with job creation, local spend and future tourism potential. We are so grateful to all the local stakeholders who worked with us to support ‘Woken’, including the University of Limerick, who have facilitated two feature films to film on campus in recent weeks.
“I can’t wait to see ‘Woken’ on the big screen and to welcome more Irish and International productions to the Mid-West”.
University of Limerick President Kerstin Mey said they were delighted to facilitate filming on the UL campus and happy to support the work of Film Limerick in the promotion of the Mid-West as a film location.
“It was fascinating to visit the set to meet some of the cast and crew and particularly to see how the set had been created,” Professor Mey added.
Producer John McDonnell of Fantastic Films said they had a great experience filming ‘Woken’ in Limerick and Clare.
“The stunning locations we were able to access, the local crew we recruited and the support from Film in Limerick and from the University of Limerick were all top class and we look forward to showing off the results of everyone’s hard work very soon.
“Fantastic Films loves to make films throughout the country and we welcome the development of the sector in the Mid-West and the moves being made to better support the needs of visiting productions.”
