Last Days on Mars – part funded by both the Irish Film Board and British Film Institute – is a sci-fi film starring Liev Schreiber, Romola Garai, Elias Koteas and Olivia Williams. It was shot by Irish cinematographer Robbie Ryan and written by Clive Dawson.
Robinson made waves with his animated short Fifty Percent Grey in 2001. The film was nominated for an Oscar. He has worked on several live-action shorts since, including The Silent City featuring Cillian Murphy. Last Days on Mars is his first feature-length production.
Talking about the film’s inclusion at Cannes, Robinson said it was a “wonderful endorsement of the creative talents of my cast and crew. My head just exploded.”
It has also been announced that Irish producer Conor Barry will participate in the festival’s Producers on the Move programme, which aims to encourage co-operation between international producers.
Cannes 2013
Last Days on Mars joins a prestigious line-up at this year’s Cannes Festival. As well as a selection of debut films (that are eligible for the Camera d’Or prize for best first feature), the Directors' Fortnight programme also includes new films by acclaimed directors like Ari Folman (Waltz with Bashir) and cult favourite Alejandro Jodorowsky (Holy Mountain, El Topo).
The main Competition strand will see the premieres of new films from the Coen Brothers, Roman Polanski, Steven Soderbergh, Steve McQueen (Shame, Hunger), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive), Alexander Payne (The Descendants, Sideways) and Asghar Farhadi (A Separation). Nineteen films will compete for the main Palme d’Or prize, to be awarded by a jury that includes Nicole Kidman, Ang Lee, Christoph Waltz and president Steven Spielberg.
The festival will take place between May 15th and 26th, opening with the premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby.
