The premiere of Puffin Rock and the New Friends, the new Irish animated feature from the Academy Award-nominated Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon and Derry studio Dog Ears will take place in Derry this weekend.
Brunswick Moviebowl is the venue for a red carpet premiere featuring the cast and crew, including Chris O’Dowd (My Father’s Dragon), Amy Huberman (A Cat Called Jam) and Eva Whittaker (Wolfwalkers), on June 24 at 12.30pm.
Based on the award-winning television series Puffin Rock, the film is the first animated feature to be produced in Northern Ireland.
Puffin Rock and the New Friends follows family favorites from the animated series Oona, Baba, May, and Mossy joined by a new cast of characters who arrive on the island.
Celebrating Ireland’s magnificent natural environment with themes of belonging, courage, and friendship, the film sees Oona and her new friends race against time to save the last egg of the season, before a terrible storm hits Puffin Rock and puts the entire island in danger.
Speaking about the film, director Jeremy Purcell said: “The Puffin Rock TV series will always have a very special place in my professional heart. Getting to go back to Puffin Rock island for the feature film, and tell Isabelle’s story as she moves to this new place and figures out what makes a home was a wonderful experience”.
The original television series Puffin Rock was nominated for an International Emmy Award and picked up two Kidscreen Awards and a Royal Television Award and was acquired by various broadcasters across the world.
The screenplay for Puffin Rock and the New Friends was written by Sara Daddy, who was Head Writer on the original television series. The film is produced by Paul Young, Tomm Moore, Nora Twomey from Cartoon Saloon, and John McDaid and Fionnuala Deane from Dog Ears, with the support of Northern Ireland Screen, Screen Ireland, RTÉ, and BBC Alba.
Puffin Rock and the New Friends will be released in cinemas across the country from Friday 14th July.
