Film focused on ‘re-branding’ Limerick’s image

A LOW-BUDGET film that has just been made in Limerick will give the city a better “brand”, according to its producer.

The 10-minute movie, entitled Star Struck, centres on two Limerick teenagers, Tanya and Nicole, who are trying to get dance auditions in Cork.

Marie Feehan from Moyross and Kim O’Loughlin from Dooradoyle play the lead roles.

“We tended to use local people who were around when we were filming over seven days. All the extras as well were from Limerick, ” the film’s producer, Bryan O’Brien, said. “We’re tired of the negative image that Limerick is getting. This project is about re-branding the image without it being propaganda.”

The film was made by Two Toe Films and it will be screened by RTÉ as part of its summer 2009 schedule. It will also be shown at film festivals in Europe and the US.

A crew of 25 worked on location in the city on a voluntary basis and the film has now been sent to New York for editing.

Star Struck will have its premiere in Limerick before Christmas.

The director of Star Struck, Emma Teck, who studied art in Limerick, helped fund the €20,000 budget film with prize money for her script that was won from the government-backed agency, Filmbase.

The director of photography Savas Alatis flew in from New York for the shoot.

Bryan O’Brien said: “It is a light-hearted film about two girls and the ways they try to earn money to get to dance auditions in Cork.”

Bryan, who has his own film production company, BMB based in Patrickswell, studied under Savas Alatis at the New York Film Academy. “When I spoke to him about the film he offered to come over and give us the benefit of his expertise, which was fantastic,” he said.

Much of the filming was made in Delmege Park, Moyross.

Bryan said: “The local people couldn’t do enough for us and everything went very well. The editing in New York will take about six weeks.”