The RTE/Filmbase short Leap of Faith has signed a distribution deal with Network Ireland Television. The news comes on the back of the short winning the IMRO ‘Scoring For Film’ competition, and premiering at the Galway Film Fleadh.
Leap of Faith is written by Dave Thorpe, directed by Mark Smyth and produced by Jonny Farrelly for PIO Media.
Network Ireland Television is one of the world leaders in representing and distributing the cream of worldwide shorts, with past Oscar winners and nominees on their books, such as Stutterer, Boogaloo and Graham, The Shore, The Crush and The Phone Call.
NITV’s Derry O’Brien said; ‘“My colleagues and I saw Leap of Faith when it screened at the Galway Film Fleadh in July. We thought that it was one of the best short films in competition there. We are thrilled to be working with Jonny and Mark and in helping to bring their excellent film to a wider festival and broadcast audience worldwide”.
While Leap of Faith’s producer, Jonny Farrelly, was just as excited, ‘It’s an absolute honour to be taken on by NITV. I had seen Derry do a talk in Belfast last year and taken a lot of notes about what works for distributors. Then having come through Filmbase’s Short Shots, it was always my aim to give Leap of Faith the best possible chance of getting signed with NITV. It’s funny, I can occasionally be a little short-sighted, so this is a nice surprise for myself as to what can happen with a bit of planning and patience!’
