FIRST SCREENING OF YOUNG ARKLOW FILMMAKERS’ MOVIE

A GROUP of young Arklow filmmakers have received rave reviews of their new movie which they shot on a budget of just €252.

Entitled ‘The Lads’, the full feature film is the brainchild of Ian Adams (24) who along with Ryan Hennessy, Joe Reid and Dylan Hanlon shot it over a year-and-a-half around the town of Arklow.

Ian, who has been making films since childhood and has worked on Vikings, Damo & Ivor The Movie, Penny Dreadful and The Secret Scripture, described ‘The Lads’ as ‘Love-Hate meets Dumb and Dumber’. He said that reaction so far has been brilliant. The movie centres around friends Fionn, Scott and Paul who find some money and spend it within two weeks.

When it turns out that the money belongs to dangerous gangsters, the lads have two weeks to get it back or the gangsters will kill them.

‘They spent it in two weeks and now they have two weeks to get it back,’ said Ian.

Shooting a film on such a tight budget was certainly a challenge, but the group enlisted family and friends to help as cast and crew. They did everything themselves from camera work to music, editing, sound, SFX and stunts.

While Ian said that most of the budget went on ‘batteries and goujons’, the dark comedy has already achieved positive reaction and was named as runner-up for Best Feature Film at the Reel Film Festival 2017 in Cork.

Ian, Ryan, Joe and Dylan, who are childhood friends who have been making films together since they were 12 years old, were delighted to see ‘The Lads’ screened on home soil at the Omniplex Arklow recently and were joined by their nearest and dearest for the occasion.

However, now that word has filtered out about the movie, demand is pretty high for a follow-up screening. Ian said that this is certain to take place and that a date is being finalised.

The trailer for ‘The Lads’ is available to view on YouTube at ‘The Lads Official Movie Trailer 2017’.