A REAL-LIFE DREAM ALLIANCE COMES TO THE BIG SCREEN IN “DREAM HORSE”
If you love horses on the big screen, mark your calendar for Dream Horse on May 1. Directed by Euros Lyn, the film tells the true story of Jan Vokes (played by Toni Colette of Hereditary and Little Miss Sunshine).
Vokes is a supermarket cashier and bartender from the former mining village in of Cefn Fforest, Wales. In addition to working hard, she must also serve as caregiver for elderly parents and a disabled husband (played by Owen Teale of Game of Thrones and Tolkein). Vokes decides to breed and raise a racehorse after being inspired by a patron of the gentlemen’s club where she bartends, Howard Davies (played by Damian Lewis of Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, Billions and Homeland).
Vokes, a lover of all animals, finds what appears to be an ordinary chestnut mare for £300, builds a makeshift stable in her backyard, and persuades neighbors and friends to invest in a racing syndicate in a risky gamble that she believes will pay off. They breed the mare, and the group sets their hopes on the resulting foal, naming him Dream Alliance. The trainer, Philip Hobbs (played by Nicholas Farrell) takes on the horse due to Vokes’ optimism and the horse’s raw talent.
Dream Alliance’s first race only results in a fourthplaced finish, but eventually he starts earning a profit for the ragtag syndicate group. An accident threatens all of their success, but it’s not wise to count out this plucky racehorse and his determined owner. It’s a story of triumph over adversity for two souls willing to rise above their circumstances in life to success.
Dream Horse was initially released at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival with multiple screenings. The idea for the film stemmed from a documentary on the true story, known as Dark Horse, which was produced by filmmakers Louise Osmond and Judith Dawson. That 2015 documentary captured an Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.
For more information on the movie, visit www. bleeckerstreetmedia.com/dream-horse.