Good news for Irish film fans! Netflix has announced that Handsome Devil, the warmhearted drama about an unlikely friendship in a rugby obsessed secondary school, will be shown on their service this July.
Directed by John Butler ( The Stag), Handsome Devil made a minor splash when it was shown at a a variety of festivals around the world. After securing a number of distribution deals at the Cannes Film Festival, the movie then got a wide release in the UK and Ireland in April.
Netflix's acquiring of Handsome Devil is another sign that Irish cinema is capable of enjoying a broad distribution on a variety of mediums. The youth-orientated drama will follow in the footsteps of fellow home grown films like The Young offenders, The Lobster and Brooklyn, which have all made appearances on the streaming service in recent times .
Handsome Devil centres around 16 year old outsider Ned (Fionn O'Shea), who struggles to fit in at a school where rugby is treated as a religious enterprise. Its only when he befriends his seemingly sport loving, quick to anger roommate Conor (Nicolas Galzentine), do both of the boys begin to come out of their shell. Also starring is Father Ted's Ardal O'Hanlon and Sherlock's Andrew Scott.
Catch it on Netflix on July 20 and watch the trailer below: