Loach Civil War movie selected for Cannes competition

The Wind That Shakes The Barley, directed by Ken Loach, has been selected for International Competition at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival which runs from May 18 - 28.

The Wind That Shakes The Barley stars Cork's Cillian Murphy, who starred recently in Breakfast On Pluto and also has lead roles in Red Eye and 28 Days Later under his belt.

Scripted by Paul Laverty, The Wind That Shakes The Barley begins in 1919 and tells the story of two brothers who fought together during the Irish war of Independence. They find themselves pitted against each other in the subsequent civil war.

The film was shot on location in Cork and Kerry for seven weeks and includes scenes from Bandon, Mallow, Buttevant, Coolea and Killarney.

The Wind That Shakes The Barley is an Irish-UK-Italian-German-Spanish co-production which was produced with a €6.5m budget and had an Irish spend of almost €4m.

The film was produced with financing from the Irish Film Board, the UK Film Council and TV3, amongst others, and is being distributed by Pathé in Ireland and the UK.