Irish comedy Apocalypse Clown receives international deal at Cannes Film Festival

A major international deal for the Irish comedy Apocalypse Clown was announced at the Cannes Film Festival this week. The film, directed by BAFTA-nominated George Kane, known for his work on Timewasters and Brassic, has been acquired by Vertigo Releasing for the UK and Ireland, with Charades acquiring international rights.

Filmed on location in Dublin and Kildare Apocalypse Clown follows the tale of a troupe of failed clowns and an ambitious reporter who embark on a chaotic adventure of self-discovery after a mysterious solar event plunges the world into anarchy.

“I cannot wait to finally unleash this madness on audiences. Our writers have crafted an ambitious, relentless and joyously silly script, the likes of which you don’t see much anymore and our brilliant cast are a total dream ensemble,” director George Kane said, speaking on the acquisitions.

Apocalypse Clown features David Earl (Derek, After Life), Natalie Palamides (Nate - A One Man Show), Amy De Bhrún (The Bachelor Weekend), Fionn Foley (Dublin Oldschool), Tadhg Murphy (Brassic) and Ivan Kaye (Gunpowder Milkshake). The film was penned by Shane O’Brien, James Walmsley and Demian Fox from the comedy outfit Dead Cat Bounce.

“It’s Three Amigos directed by Roland Emmerich. It’s Waterworld, on land, with fright wigs. It’s the apocalyptic clown comedy the world didn’t know it needed, but absolutely does,” he added.

Carole Baraton, Charade’s co-founder said the company was, “in at title stage, even before (they) read the script.”

Apocalypse Clown was produced by Morgan Bushe and James Dean for Fastnet Films (Black47, What If) in co-production with Namesake Films and Cloé Garbay and Beata Saboova of Media.

Ed Caffrey and Rupert Preston of Vertigo Releasing, Patrick O’Neill of Wildcard Distribution, Celine Haddad of Screen Ireland and John Gleeson and Oisín O’Neill of BCP Asset Management, serve as executive producers.

Production investment was provided by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, RTÉ, Section 481, Vertigo Releasing, BCP, the Belgian tax shelter and Screen Ireland.

A major int'l deal for the Irish comedy APOCALYPSE CLOWN was announced at #CannesFilmFestival this week.

The film has been acquired by @VertigoRel for UK & Ire with @charadesfilms acquiring int'l rights.

Full details 👉 https://t.co/lMDF9GTp56 pic.twitter.com/8Fqtp9S0Ew

— Wildcard Distribution (@WildCardDistrib) May 25, 2022