By Sean Power
The 26-year-old director’s last two films, ‘The Lads’ and ‘Manhunt’ have almost amassed 2 million views between them on YouTube. For the latter, Ian’s thriller won numerous awards including best movie, best director, best actor, and best actress from numerous competitions around the world. Ian was even offered contracts for the film, which has reached almost 750,000 views in just 3 months.
“I was offered 2 contracts for Manhunt and had meetings with 3 sales agents. After a long time with solicitors and contracts, I sadly had to turn down the offer. It was amazing that 2 people wanted to buy my movie, but I still have a lot to learn in this game.” He said.
For his next film, Ian doesn’t want to reveal too much but says it will be a feel-good comedy.
“I’ve done horror, thriller and dark comedy which can be very serious and intense at times but with this next one, I just want to have pure craic with [it]. I’m writing it with my mate Joe Reid who shot both of my movies, ‘Manhunt’ and ‘The Lads’. He is shooting this next movie as well, so I’m really excited and looking forward to shooting it as soon as we have our final draft done. Our plan is to make it as Irish and relatable as possible.”
Impressively, Ian shot his last 2 films which are both over an hour in runtime, on a budget of just €550 combined. For his upcoming film, Ian hopes to secure funding but is still prepared to work with a tight budget again, if needed.
“This is my 3rd feature film so I’m looking to up my game with this production and to be better than the last film. [It would] be pretty cool if I could get the Irish Film Board (IFB) involved but we will see how things go. We are writing the movie in a way that if we get no funding, it’s still possible and easy for us to shoot it ourselves.”
Ian graduated from Bray Institute of Further Education back in 2013 after spending two years studying TV & Film Production. After graduating, he went on to work as assistant director on popular shows like Penny Dreadful and The Vikings. Such experience will be invaluable to him as he looks to take the next step up with his films.
“While this quarantine has been happening me and Joe have been back and forward on the phone, face timing and writing about what exactly we are trying to say in this movie. We have been writing constantly and are now on our 3rd draft, so the plan is to have it ready to go as soon as this quarantine is over. When it’s over, I’d like to start pitching and looking to meet with producers and investors. That way we would have it released by the end of 2021.”
