Baltic Event Co-Production Market
Class A
CLASS A follows 11-year-old BOBBY O’BRIEN, a precocious and energetic boy obsessed with becoming a great detective. Set against the backdrop of 1980’s, working class, inner-city Dublin, BOBBY and his pal NELL torment their family, friends and neighbours as they set up their own private investigation enterprise. When BOBBY’S brother OISIN disappears this story of innocence and adventure must challenge the murky world of criminality and addiction. BOBBY, with the help of NELL, apply their detective skills to finding OISIN. They set out on an mission across the iconic city of Dublin, that will ultimately change how they view their world forever.
The characters in Class A are so well drawn and charming that the audience will be unable to avoid falling in love with them. It’s a snapshot of Dublin at a time when the economy was depressed, the youth were rebelling and the streets were awash with drugs. This tough and often daunting place is seen through the lens of an 11-year-old boy whose vivid imagination, innocence and love of Kojak wins us over from the start.
There are so many wonderful roles for actors here. Bobby’s mother Maura is at the heart of the story. A strong character who will ultimately be the one to stand up against the pushers. Her relationship with Bobby is deeply touching. Also, his best friend Nell has the potential to be one of cinema’s great “characters”!
Visually, the idea of bringing 1980’s Dublin to the screen is so exciting. The hairstyles, the clothing, the cars, all must be carefully executed. Photographically, this film will marry urban grit with cinematic beauty. A portrait of a time & a community.
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Brian Durnin is an international commercials director who has directed over 250 commercials for brands including Guinness, Heinz, Vodafone and McDonalds. He has received national and international accolades including a Cannes Lion and a Kinsale Shark. His short films screened & won awards at festivals including Tribeca, Raindance, Galway FF and Filmare in Rome. Brian produced and directed the proof of concept for THE LIBERTIES which set the internet alight, garnering more than 20K views in its first week online. In addition, he has written several other feature films which are currently at various stages of development including Big Silver Lining (SI development) and The Frequency of Life (Jim Sheridan/Hells Kitchen) which received Creative Europe Media Funding.
Laura McNicholas is a graduate of University College Dublin, an alumni of the TorinoFilmLab SeriesLab, the Rotterdam Producers Lab at IFFR and most recently industry labs with MediaXchange and the Erich Pommer Institut. Laura McNicholas established and runs 925 Productions. 925 creates character driven drama with strong through lines and has the feature film CLASS A and the TV dramas’ THE CROSSING PLACE and THE LIBERTIES in development with the support of Screen Ireland. Past work includes multiple award winning short films which screened at festivals including Palm Springs, Fantasia, LA Shorts Fest, Galway Film Fleadh, Helsinki IFF and Dublin IFF. Along with this, Laura previously worked as the production executive at Samson Films and shot digital content for Element Pictures.
925 creates character driven drama with strong through lines and has the feature film CLASS A and the TV dramas’ THE CROSSING PLACE and THE LIBERTIES in development with the support of Screen Ireland. Past work includes multiple award winning short films which screened at festivals including Palm Springs, Fantasia, LA Shorts Fest, Galway Film Fleadh, Helsinki IFF and Dublin IFF. Along with this, Laura previously worked as the production executive at Samson Films and shot digital content for Element Pictures.