18/07/2024 - The film, billed as “the first-ever Irish-language horror”, will be premiered out of competition at the Swiss gathering next month

A care worker, Shoo, is haunted by a personal tragedy. She is sent to a remote village to care for an agoraphobic woman, who fears both the neighbours and the Na Sídhe – sinister folkloric entities that she believes abducted her decades before. As the pair develop a deep connection, Shoo becomes consumed by the old woman’s paranoia, rituals and superstitions, eventually confronting the horrors from her own past.

This is the synopsis of Fréwaka [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aislinn Clarke
film profile] by Aislinn Clarke, billed as “the first-ever Irish-language horror” and set to be premiered out of competition at the Locarno Film Festival (7-17 August – see the news). The cast includes Clare Monnelly (Moone Boy), Bríd Ní Neachtain (The Banshees of Inisherin [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Róise & Frank) and Ukraine’s Aleksandra Bystrzhitskaya (F20).

Clarke herself described the story as “an original take on Irish folklore and contemporary Ireland, exploring the tension that exists between past and present, the personal and the public”.

Fréwaka is being produced by Dermot Lavery for DoubleBand Films (UK) and Patrick O’Neill for Wildcard (Ireland). It is funded through the Cine4 scheme, and is backed by Screen Ireland, TG4, Coimisiún na Meán (formerly known as the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland) and the Section 481, Ireland’s national tax incentive. New Europe Film Sales manages the world rights of the feature.

Check out our exclusive clips of Fréwaka below: