A picture of the cast and crew with UL President Professor Kerstin Mey on location at UL
Pictured at University of Limerick on the set of Woken were John McDonnell, Producer, Alan Friel, Director, Erin Kellyman, Actress, Paul C. Ryan, Regional Film Manager, Professor Kerstin Mey, President University of Limerick and Sean Flynn, Location Manager Picture: Alan Place
Wednesday, 8 June 2022

Shooting has wrapped on Woken, a psychological thriller filmed in several locations in Limerick and Clare, including at University of Limerick.

The film stars Erin Kellyman, who featured in Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Green Knight and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Maxine Peake, of Shameless, The Theory of Everything and The Falling fame.

It will premiere in cinemas later this year.

Filmed over five weeks on location in UL, Limerick and West Clare the film is funded by Screen Ireland and produced by Fantastic Films, whose credits include Vivarium and Sea Fever.

Woken marks the feature debut of Mayo director Alan Friel, who previously worked with Peake on his prize-winning 2017 short film Cake.

The film, which was also written by Friel, tells the story of a young woman who wakes up on a remote island without any memory and is forced to re-learn everything about herself, including her husband and the baby she is carrying. When two disfigured men arrive on the island, she comes to learn another terrifying truth.

The production was supported by Innovate Limerick through Film in Limerick, who have a regional remit for developing the sector in the Mid-West. Film in Limerick worked closely with the producers to bring the production to the region and assisted with locations, crewing and local permissions.

Paul C. Ryan, Regional Film Manager at Film in Limerick said: “It is brilliant to see so many independent features choosing the Mid-West as their filming location. The impact of such productions for the filming locations and the region in general is massive, with job creation, local spend and future tourism potential.

“We are so grateful to all the local stakeholders who worked with us to support Woken, including the University of Limerick, who have facilitated two feature films to film on campus in recent weeks.

“I can’t wait to see Woken on the big screen and to welcome more Irish and International productions to the Mid-West,” he added.

Kerstin Mey, President of University of Limerick on the filming at UL, said: “We were delighted to facilitate filming on our campus and are very happy to support the work of Film Limerick in the promotion of the Mid-West as a film location. It was fascinating to visit the set to meet some of the cast and crew and particularly to see how the set had been created.”

John McDonnell, Producer at Fantastic Films, said: “We had a great experience filming Woken in Limerick and Clare. The stunning locations we were able to access, the local crew we recruited and the support from Film in Limerick and from the University of Limerick were all top class and we look forward to showing off the results of everyone’s hard work very soon.

“Fantastic Films loves to make films throughout the country and we welcome the development of the sector in the Mid-West and the moves being made to better support the needs of visiting productions.”