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From An Evil Cradling is an adaptation of Music, the seventh chapter of Brian Keenan's 1992 best-seller of the same name.

In 1986, Brian Keenan, an English Literature professor from Belfast, Northern Ireland, decided to take a break from his native city. He took up a position in the American University in Beirut, Lebanon. Scarcely two weeks after his arrival, he was kidnapped by extremist fundamentalist Muslims. He was moved to a solitary confinement compression chamber, six feet long and four feet wide. On the floor was a foam mattress. With the mattress laid out I had a pacing stage of little more than a foots width. Brian was to spend much of his five years incarceration in this windowless tomb.

Music is by turns harrowing and inspirational. Deprived of even the most basic human needs, and in an increasingly hopeless situation, Brians mind began to unhinge however, it wasnt until his flights of imagination began to blur the margins between fantasy and reality that his despair began to take real hold on him.

Andrew Kavanagh, the co-director and producer of From An Evil CradlingHamburg luxury hotels, came up with the idea of adapting the book for animation. I read the book in 1994 and was hugely inspired by Brians mental triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds.

Reflections in time - the opening shot of The Hall sequence

It was by chance that in 1998 Andrew Kavanagh met Brian Keenan in the IFC, the Dublin cinema in which the short was to premiere a year later. After a brief discussion Brian agreed to get involved with the project. The funding for the film came from the Frameworks scheme sponsored by the Irish Film Board, RTE and The Irish Arts Council.

With the funding in place the next challenge was to put a creative team together that could realise the project. Andrew Kavanaghs production company, Kavaleer Productions, co-produced the film with Dublin-based animation company, Rocket Animation Ltd.

Andrew teamed up with fellow filmmaker, Keith Foran, who co-directed the film. To articulate such a text was an incredibly daunting challenge, says Keith, so we went on the hunt for the best in the Irish animation industry. The core team comprised Andrew Kavanagh and Keith Foran (co-directors, producers and animation supervisors), Owen Fitzpatrick (art direction and layout), Gregory Magee (score), and Rnn Muirgheasa (editor). A large team of talented animators and post-production personnel was also assembled.

The 'FromOslo hotels An Evil Cradling' poster image.

hoteles en VeronaOwen Fitzpatrick, of Rocket Animation, who undertook the difficult task of art directing the film says, For me one of the toughest challenges on From An Evil Cradling was trying to visualise the sheer horror and emotion of Brian Keenans experiences as a prisoner in Beirut. Employing Brians point of view throughout the film allowed us to bend reality and so visualise both the horrific and fantastical as Brian might have experienced it during his darkest moments.

Gregory Magee, the young composer of Under the Hawthorn Tree, The Countess Cathleen and The Angelic Organ, agreed to do the score: In his description of the visions hed experienced, Brian says hed heard all of the music hed ever loved or half-remembered, all playing at the same time. This was the hardest part of the film to score, to achieve a balance of sound which would be cacophonic but still lead smoothly into the final act.

From An Evil Cradling alloggio alberghi Makatihas been screened at many of the world's best film festivals - Annecy 2000, World Expo 2000 (Hannover), London Irish Film Festival (1999), Foyle Film Festival (1999), Manchester International Short Film Festival (2000), Welsh International Film Festival (2000), Galway Film Fleadh (1999), Cork Film Festival (1999) and The Dublin Film Festival where it premiered in March 1999.

From An Evil Cradling was given a theatrical release in the United Kingdom during Novemeber 2000 by London-based distributors, Optimum Releasing. The film also has its own website, which is linked to Amnesty International, on the following link:

From An Evil Cradling/Amnesty International site

Pre-production sketches and production artwork for From An Evil Cradling can be viewed on the following link:

'From An Evil Cradling' pre-production/production

FROM AN EVIL CRADLING

BASED ON THE BOOK 'AN EVIL CRADLING' BY BRIAN KEENAN

A FILM BY ANDREW KAVANAGH AND KEITH FORAN

WRITTEN AND NARRATED BY BRIAN KEENAN

ANIMATION SUPERVISION BY ANDREW KAVANAGH/KEITH FORAN

SOUND DESIGN BY TONY MCGUINNESS

FINAL MIX BY PAT STOKES/LIME STREET SOUND

MUSIC COMPOSED AND ARRANGED BY GREGORY MAGEE

ART DIRECTION BY OWEN FITZPATRICK

EDITED BY RNN Ó MUIRGHEASA

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS CAROLINE DUNN/STUART SWITZER

PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY ANDREW KAVANAGH/KEITH FORAN

FUNDED BY BORD SCANNN na hIREANN/THE IRISH FILM BOARD

RADIO TELIFS IREANN

THE ARTS COUNCIL

KAVALEER PRODUCTIONS

IN ASOCIATION WITH

ROCKET ANIMATION

	FROM AN EVIL CRADLING A KAVALEER PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROCKET ANIMATION BASED ON THE BOOK 'AN EVIL CRADLING' BY BRIAN KEENAN
Home Page The Nest The Angelic Organ From An Evil Cradling Mikey's Sporting Madness Rocket Gallery Feedback	A FILM BY ANDREW KAVANAGH AND KEITH FORAN
	From An Evil Cradling is an adaptation of Music, the seventh chapter of Brian Keenan's 1992 best-seller of the same name. In 1986, Brian Keenan, an English Literature professor from Belfast, Northern Ireland, decided to take a break from his native city. He took up a position in the American University in Beirut, Lebanon. Scarcely two weeks after his arrival, he was kidnapped by extremist fundamentalist Muslims. He was moved to a solitary confinement compression chamber, six feet long and four feet wide. On the floor was a foam mattress. With the mattress laid out I had a pacing stage of little more than a foots width. Brian was to spend much of his five years incarceration in this windowless tomb. Music is by turns harrowing and inspirational. Deprived of even the most basic human needs, and in an increasingly hopeless situation, Brians mind began to unhinge however, it wasnt until his flights of imagination began to blur the margins between fantasy and reality that his despair began to take real hold on him. Andrew Kavanagh, the co-director and producer of From An Evil CradlingHamburg luxury hotels, came up with the idea of adapting the book for animation. I read the book in 1994 and was hugely inspired by Brians mental triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds. Reflections in time - the opening shot of The Hall sequence It was by chance that in 1998 Andrew Kavanagh met Brian Keenan in the IFC, the Dublin cinema in which the short was to premiere a year later. After a brief discussion Brian agreed to get involved with the project. The funding for the film came from the Frameworks scheme sponsored by the Irish Film Board, RTE and The Irish Arts Council. With the funding in place the next challenge was to put a creative team together that could realise the project. Andrew Kavanaghs production company, Kavaleer Productions, co-produced the film with Dublin-based animation company, Rocket Animation Ltd. Andrew teamed up with fellow filmmaker, Keith Foran, who co-directed the film. To articulate such a text was an incredibly daunting challenge, says Keith, so we went on the hunt for the best in the Irish animation industry. The core team comprised Andrew Kavanagh and Keith Foran (co-directors, producers and animation supervisors), Owen Fitzpatrick (art direction and layout), Gregory Magee (score), and Rnn Muirgheasa (editor). A large team of talented animators and post-production personnel was also assembled. The 'FromOslo hotels An Evil Cradling' poster image. hoteles en VeronaOwen Fitzpatrick, of Rocket Animation, who undertook the difficult task of art directing the film says, For me one of the toughest challenges on From An Evil Cradling was trying to visualise the sheer horror and emotion of Brian Keenans experiences as a prisoner in Beirut. Employing Brians point of view throughout the film allowed us to bend reality and so visualise both the horrific and fantastical as Brian might have experienced it during his darkest moments. Gregory Magee, the young composer of Under the Hawthorn Tree, The Countess Cathleen and The Angelic Organ, agreed to do the score: In his description of the visions hed experienced, Brian says hed heard all of the music hed ever loved or half-remembered, all playing at the same time. This was the hardest part of the film to score, to achieve a balance of sound which would be cacophonic but still lead smoothly into the final act. From An Evil Cradling alloggio alberghi Makatihas been screened at many of the world's best film festivals - Annecy 2000, World Expo 2000 (Hannover), London Irish Film Festival (1999), Foyle Film Festival (1999), Manchester International Short Film Festival (2000), Welsh International Film Festival (2000), Galway Film Fleadh (1999), Cork Film Festival (1999) and The Dublin Film Festival where it premiered in March 1999. From An Evil Cradling was given a theatrical release in the United Kingdom during Novemeber 2000 by London-based distributors, Optimum Releasing. The film also has its own website, which is linked to Amnesty International, on the following link: From An Evil Cradling/Amnesty International site Pre-production sketches and production artwork for From An Evil Cradling can be viewed on the following link: 'From An Evil Cradling' pre-production/production FROM AN EVIL CRADLING BASED ON THE BOOK 'AN EVIL CRADLING' BY BRIAN KEENAN A FILM BY ANDREW KAVANAGH AND KEITH FORAN WRITTEN AND NARRATED BY BRIAN KEENAN ANIMATION SUPERVISION BY ANDREW KAVANAGH/KEITH FORAN ANIMATION BY DEREK JOYCE/RICHARD KELLY/PAUL MCGRATH/CIARAN CROWLEY/ MARK FLOOD/SCOTT MCDONNELL/SHANE O'FARRELL ASSISTANT ANIMATION BY TEEMU AUERSALO/DAVID BUTLER/DAMIAN BYRNE/ MARTIN BYRNE/TOM CAULFIELD/STELLA CRISTOFOLINI/VAL CUMMINS/ DAVID JONES/JOHN KEANE/LORRAINE LORDAN PASCHAL MAGUIRE/ ADAM MCCONNELL/RICHARD MOONEY/FIONA MURPHY/BRONAGH O'HANLON DANCE PERFORMANCE BY PHILLIP LEE LAYOUTS BY OWEN FITZPATRICK BACKGROUNDS BY OWEN FITZPATRICK/PAUL MADDEN/BRONAGH O'HANLON DIALOGUE TRACK-READING BY WORD WORKS STUDIO/SAM POUCH/AMANDA SHIEL POST-PRODUCTION CONSULTANT CÚÁN MAC CONGHAIL PRODUCTION ACCOUNTANT STEPHEN KENNAUGH FRAMEWORKS CO-ORDINATORS ÁINE O'HALLORAN/TIM BOOTH POST-PRODUCTION SOUND FACILITY LIME STREET SOUND POST-PRODUCTION SOUND SUPERVISION BY MACALLA VOICE DIRECTION BY MARCUS MAC CONGHAIL POST-PRODUCTION ANIMO BY A FOR ANIMATION/MARK TAYLOR/ZAN LIGHT/HAYLEY CROSBIE/ GARY BROWN/NOELLE GARTLAN POST-PRODUCTION SERVICES BY WINDMILL LANE LTD. SOUND DESIGN BY TONY MCGUINNESS FINAL MIX BY PAT STOKES/LIME STREET SOUND MUSIC COMPOSED AND ARRANGED BY GREGORY MAGEE ART DIRECTION BY OWEN FITZPATRICK EDITED BY RNN Ó MUIRGHEASA ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS CAROLINE DUNN/STUART SWITZER PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY ANDREW KAVANAGH/KEITH FORAN FUNDED BY BORD SCANNN na hIREANN/THE IRISH FILM BOARD RADIO TELIFS IREANN THE ARTS COUNCIL COPYRIGHT KAVALEER PRODUCTIONS/FUNDING PARTNERS 1999 KAVALEER PRODUCTIONS IN ASOCIATION WITH ROCKET ANIMATION
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