A Date for Mad Mary

„Mad“ Mary McArdle kehrt nach einer kurzen Gefängnisstrafe nach Drogheda zurück. Warum sie einsaß? Ach, das möchte sie am liebsten vergessen. Bei Marys Ankunft hat sich alles und jeder verändert. Ihre beste Freundin, Charlene, wird bald heiraten. Mary soll ihre Trauzeugin werden. Als Charlene ihr jedoch verbietet, Begleitung mitzubringen, weil sie ja sowieso niemanden finden würde, möchte sie Mary eines Besseren belehren. Doch: Ihre Dates sind ein Desaster. Und Mary fühlt sich einsamer denn je – bis sie die Musikerin Jess trifft und sich alles ändert. Eine bittersüße Entwicklungsgeschichte über Freundschaft, erste Liebe, Loslassen und Neubeginn.

The start of adulthood might also mean the end of childhood friendships. Impulsive Mary comes back home after spending six months in prison for her involvement in a vicious school fight. Her best friend Charlene is getting married in three weeks and Mary needs to find a date for the wedding. But she can’t find a suitable partner and, what’s more, it seems that Charlene doesn’t want to spend as much time with Mary as she used to. So Mary seeks refuge in the company of singer Jess, but she’s just getting more confused. […] The character of Mary is a mix of impetuousness and vulnerability, which might describe anyone on the threshold of adulthood, in fact. (Vít Kořínek, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)

Director's Biography
DARREN THORNTON, born in 1976, is an Irish stage and artistic director. He studied film at Cólaiste Dhúlaigh College in Dublin and made his television debut writing and directing the award-winning series Love Is the Drug. His first short film, Frankie, won the Prix UIP at the Berlin International Film Festival 2008 and the European Academy Award for Best Short Film that same year. In 2011, his second short film, Two Hearts, also won the Prix UIP. A Date for Mad Mary is his debut feature film. // Films (selection): Frankie (2007, short), Two Hearts (2011, short), A Date for Mad Mary (2016)
European Panorama Fiction 2017
Darren Thornton
Irland 2016
color
82 Minuten
OF
Drehbuch Darren Thornton, Colin Thornton, based on a theater play by Yasmine Akram
Kamera Ole Bratt Birkeland
Schnitt Tony Cranstoun, Juangus Dinsmore
Ton/Sounddesign Patrick Hanlon, Niall Brady, Michelle Fingleton, Ken Galvin
Musik Stephen Rennicks, Hugh Drumm
Mit Seána Kerslake, Tara Lee, Charleigh Bailey, Denise McCormack, Siobhán Shanahan
Produzent*innen Juliette Bones, Ed Guiney (Element Pictures, IE)
Produktion
Element Pictures 21 Mespil Road Dublin 4, Ireland info@elementpictures.ie www.elementpictures.ie
Österreichpremiere
Weltpremiere / World Premiere
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2016

Premierenstatus / Premiere Status
Austrian Premiere