The 28th edition of the Raindance Film Festival will close with the U.K. premiere of “Here Are The Young men,” directed by Eoin Macken (“Cold”).
The film is based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Rob Doyle, who co-wrote the screenplay with Macken. It follows three Dublin teenagers who leave school to a social vacuum of drinking and drugs, and fall into acts of transgression. It stars Dean-Charles Chapman (“1917”), Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Witch”), Finn Cole (“Slaughterhouse Rulez”), and Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (“Sing Street”).
The film previously played at the Galway Film Fleadh, where it won the Bingham Ray New Talent Award for co-producer Edwina Casey, and at the Giffoni Film Festival, where it was in official competition.
Macken will attend the premiere at London’s Vue West End cinema and participate in a Q&A. The venue will have reduced audience capacity in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines, and masks are compulsory.
As previously announced, the festival will adopt a hybrid model for this edition and will open with David Bowie origin story “Stardust.”
The closing film will be one of six featuring in-person talent. Raindance, which has programmed 50 titles in total, runs from Oct. 28 to Nov. 7.
“The world has changed dramatically. And with these seismic changes has come the once-in-a-lifetime chance to re-invigorate and innovate,” says Raindance founder Elliot Grove. “Raindance brings you an entirely new way to look at and appreciate the very best of independent cinema from around the world. In addition to our online offering, we are thrilled to be back on cinema screens with a select number of films, including both opening and closing premieres. There’s no stopping us.”