New Irish Films Joyride and Lakelands To Premiere At Galway Film Fleadh Next Month

Wildcard to Release Both Films in Cinemas This Year

Two new Irish films will have their world premieres at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh next month.  Emer Reynolds’  JOYRIDE, starring the Oscar®-winning actress Olivia Colman (The Favourite) and newcomer Charlie Reid, will open the festival on Tuesday 5th July while the midlands-set Gaelic football drama LAKELANDS directed by Robert Higgins and Patrick McGivney will screen on Saturday 9th July.   Wildcard Distribution will be bringing both films to cinemas later this year.

JOYRIDE produced by Subotica Films tells the story of Joy (Olivia Colman), a complicated woman struggling with motherhood, who finds herself on the run with Mully (Charlie Reid), a troubled adolescent with a mum-shaped void in his life. As they tear up the road on their riotous wild journey across Ireland, we follow these roguish ‘outlaws’ in search of their dreams, in this feel-good, foul-mouthed fairy-tale.

LAKELANDS follows Cian, a young Gaelic footballer struggling to comes to terms with a career-ending injury after an attack on a night out.  He undertakes a search for his own identity in a small town where Gaelic football is a religion, and identity is defined by what you can do on the pitch.  The film features a cast of emerging Irish stars including Éanna Hardwicke (Vivarium, Normal People) and Danielle Galligan (Netflix’s Shadow and Bone) and is the directorial debut from Higgins and McGivney who both also produced the film for Harp Media.

Wildcard Distribution are working with Vertigo Releasing on the Irish theatrical release of JOYRIDE this summer and will be releasing LAKELANDS in Irish and UK cinemas later this year.