Black 47, the Irish famine action movie directed by Lance Daly, has been given a release date. The critically-acclaimed film will open in theaters on Friday, September 7, RTÉ reports.
The film received its Irish premiere at the Audi Dublin International Film Festival and its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year.
Read More: “Black 47” director calls famine “the single most important event in Irish history”
The film is set in 1847, the worst year of the Famine. Feeney (James Frecheville), a young Irishman, returns home after serving abroad with the British Army. When he discovers what has happened to his family while he’s been away, Feeney plots a revolution in revenge. British soldier Hannah (Hugo Weaving) is sent to find Feeney and put an end to his uprising.
Director Lance Daly said: “Given the singular importance of the Great Famine in Irish history, and that it has never been seen on our cinema screens before, our cast and crew felt a huge responsibility to make a film that was not only historically accurate and emotionally true, but also undeniably entertaining, so that the story could reach as many people as possible.”
"I am immensely proud of the achievement of the entire team, both in front of and behind the camera, and I hope that Irish audiences will be as moved watching the movie as we were making it."
Aussie actor #JamesFrecheville tells us about learning to speak Irish for his role in the new Famine-set thriller #Black47 - saying it was "pretty tough". pic.twitter.com/KX5agJ0dkd
— Entertainment on RTÉ (@RTE_Ents) February 22, 2018
Frecheville, who is Australian, had to learn Irish for his role. He told RTÉ Entertainment that he "really put everything on the line.”
"It's hard to say where the challenge was because it was all challenging," said Frecheville. "It was all very cold. I'm not so good at learning languages, so to pick up a language that not a great number of people speak was pretty tough. Apparently, I passed a few tests - but I still have to see what the public thinks."
Read More: “Black 47,” first major film about famine-era Ireland, getting rave early reviews
Stephen Rea, Barry Keoghan, Moe Dunford, Sarah Greene and Jim Broadent round out the cast.
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