SATURDAY 27 NOV | 11AM
SHORTS TO FEATURES CONFERENCE VENUE: NERVE CENTRE
CLOSEUP
DIRECTOR/WRITER/PRODUCER
DAVID FREYNE David Freyne returned to his hometown in Country Kildare in Ireland to direct his semi-autobiographical screenplay, set in 1995, just two years after homosexuality was decriminalisation in the country. The film, Dating Amber is a platonic romantic comedy that sees two queer high school students Eddie (Fionn O’Shea) and Amber (Lola Petticrew) at different stages of selfacceptance, pretend to be a couple in order to avoid any speculation from their peers. Freyne’s 2017 feature debut as writerdirector was zombie movie The Cured starring Ellen Page. It screened in Special Presentation at TIFF, LFF, Sitges, as well as winning Best Horror Feature at Fantastic Fest. His follow up was Dating Amber, which sold to Amazon as a Prime Original. It has received several awards including the Audience Award at NewFest and the Pink News Best Feature Film. David has described this second feature as being far more personal:
SPECIAL EVENTS
“it’s my story…or at least as autobiographical as it will ever get.” David is currently in development on a number of Film and Television projects.
44