Films at the Fleadh – An Klondike

We conclude our series of posts on the films at 2015 Galway Film Fleadh, taking a look at Dathaí Keane’s Irish language western An Klondike. The film screens Sunday July 12th, at 8.30pm in the Town Hall Theatre, as the closing film of the Fleadh.

The first western to be entirely filmed in Ireland (Sergio Leone’s Duck, You Sucker! filmed w scenes in Dublin and Howth in 1971), An Klondike follows the Connolly Brothers; three Irish emigrants who travel from Montana to the Yukon during the Klondike gold rush of the 1890’s in the hope of striking it rich. The film sees the Connolly brothers pitch up in the town of Dominion Creek where they become embroiled in a deadly feud with Jacob Hopkins, the man who runs the town.

The Connolly brothers are being played by Owen McDonnell, Dara Devaney and Sean T. Ó Meallaigh. Other cast members include Siobhán O’Kelly, Séamus Hughes, Steve Wall, Ned Dennehy, Robert O’Mahoney, Megan Riordain, Bríd Ní Neachtain and Native American actor Julian Black Antelope.

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An Klondike is written by Marcus Fleming, director of photography is Colm Hogan, costume designer is Triona Lillis, with music is by Steve Lynch.  As part of the production the mining town of Dominion Creek was constructed on the grounds of the Glengowla mines outside Oughterard in Co. Galway. Production Designer Padraig O’Neill and his team spent months researching and designing each building that makes up the town.

The film is produced by Galway based company Abú Media, with financing coming from the BAI, TG4 and Section 481 Tax credit. The Irish Film Board provided development funding for the project. The film has already an international distribution deal with Content Media, and producers hope that the film will be submitted by IFTA for Best Foreign Language Oscar consideration as Ireland’s official entry.

[quote title=”Dathaí Keane – Director”]I’m delighted that An Klondike has been chosen to close the Fleadh. I’m from Galway myself and have been coming to the Fleadh since I was in school, so to premiere my first feature here is a real honour. The film was shot entirely in the West of Ireland and the landscape plays a vital role in establishing the visual tone of An Klondike. The desolate pine forests and lakes of Connemara are a perfect backdrop for the story we are telling. The terrain in certain parts of the West is identical to the regions of the Yukon where gold was discovered. So it’s very fitting that An Klondike make its debut at the Galway Film Fleadh.[/quote]

An Klondike closes the 2015 Galway Film Fleadh with its world premiere on Sunday July 12th, at 8.30pm in the Town Hall Theatre. Director Dathaí Keane and the cast of the film will attend the screening.