Northern Irish drama ‘Bosco' to shoot later this year

Colm Meaney, Sean Harris, Susan Lynch and Stephen Rea will lead the cast of UK feature Bosco, which will shoot later this year for Featuristic Films.

The film is a feature debut for UK filmmaker Kevin Thomas, who has directed extensively in commercials for Amazon, Sony, Vodafone and Carlsberg.

Set in Northern Ireland in the 1990s, it follows a 10-year-old boy who uses his artistic gift and imagination to seek revenge after witnessing the murder of his father.

Bosco is written by Eugene O’Hare based on his own short story, which was written for BBC radio and narrated by Rea.

Julien Loeffler and James Kermack will produce for Featuristic, with development supported by Northern Ireland Screen.

Thomas previously directed shorts including True Love (Once Removed) and Sunday Roast starring David Thewlis and Craig Roberts.

O’Hare’s debut short film as a writer The Music Room was commissioned by BBC Northern Ireland and broadcast on BBC 2. Earlier this week he won the inaugural Victoria Wood Playwriting Prize for comedy.

“A truly original and singular piece of writing, Eugene’s work bristles with imagination and humanity providing a new cinematic voice that deserves to be heard,” said Kermack. “Coupled with Kevin’s ability to visually engage and astound an audience, we believe this film will leave a lasting impact on viewers worldwide.”

“Eugene’s script is heartbreaking whilst remaining charming and tender, melancholy and visceral whilst retaining optimism, and all rounded off with an ending that is pure euphoria,” said Thomas.

Featuristic recently wrapped crime drama Salvable in co-production with Lowkey Films, starring Toby Kebbell and Shia Labeouf, sold by Metro International in Cannes.