TIGER RAID: NEW Damien Molony and Brian Gleeson photo, plus more film details revealed!

March 14, 2016

Since the Tiger Raid Tribeca 2016 world premiere was announced last week, new info on the film has been revealed via the Irish Film Board.

The film’s entry in the IFB directory has a striking new photo and it’s the first full length shot we’ve seen of Damien and co-lead Brian Gleeson, who play Paddy and Joe in the film.

A more detailed synopsis also reveals a little more about the story and the two main characters. We’ve known the bones of the story for a while – a dark thriller focussing on two mercenaries journeying across the desert as they undertake a kidnapping in Iraq – but this new info gives us a greater glimpse into their “volatile” and “violent” world.

Check it out below (this contains some new info, mild spoilers warning!).

Joe and Paddy are members of a private security crew working in the Middle East. They have been assigned to kidnap the daughter of a powerful man as part of a major robbery – a Tiger Raid.

We meet them as they travel through the inhospitable desert on their way to execute the raid. Joe, the older of the two, carries a brutal and unrepentant view of the world, defined by fear and adoration of their invisible but omnipresent boss. Paddy is younger and recklessly ambitious, hungry to progress through the ranks of the crew. Neither man trusts the other as they tell half truths and stories of previous victories in a battle to determine who controls this increasingly volatile situation.

As the raid progresses, deeply hidden truths about both men¹s pasts are revealed, fracturing their already fragile relationship and forcing them to face up to who they really are in order to survive its violent and shocking conclusion.

Irish Film Board

Even more Tiger Raid insights come via Director Simon Dixon in an interview with RTÉ.

Tiger Raid began life as a stage play set in rural Ireland…This gave the film its Irish voice, but we wanted it to have an international heartbeat. We re-contextualised it to the war-torn Middle East, heightening the violent and incendiary themes.”

We filmed in Jordan so that we could immerse ourselves in the reality of the Middle East. We wanted our actors to tread on sand that stretched to Baghdad, to battle 120-degree desert heat and to wake to the sound of the call to prayer. The uncompromising reality of the production fed their performances. The film explores the dark hearts of men; it is revelatory and emotionally explosive.”

The film will screen 17 April as an official selection at the New York film festival, making its world premiere in the ‘Midnight’ section.

Festival tickets for single screenings go on sale 29 March, but advance ticket packages and festival passes are available to buy now. For more ticket info, visit the Tribeca Film Festival website.

The more we hear the more thrilled we are for this film. Watch this space for more news as we get it!

Tiger Raid is directed by Simon Dixon, produced by Gareth Coulam Evans and Samson Films, written by Mick Donnellan, Simon Dixon and Gareth Coulam Evans and exec produced by Aporva Baxi.

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