Nocebo

63rd TIFF: Greek Premiere

Irish filmmaker Lorcan Finnegan is proving himself to be a master manipulator of benign space, turning the familiar or domestic into a nightmarish labyrinth of horror. An affluent home becomes the setting for an intense showdown between a successful woman and that which haunts her. A fashion designer suffers from a mysterious illness that confounds her doctors and frustrates her husband – until help arrives in the form of a Filipino nanny who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying truth. Starring Eva Green and Mark Strong, Nocebo (which means a negative placebo effect) combines traditional folklore with modern concerns about cultural exploitation and, via moments of melodramatic grandeur, proves to be an intriguing work from one of Ireland’s most interesting talents.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Lorcan Finnegan

Script: Garret Shanley

Cinematography: Radek Ladczuk

Editing: Tony Cranstoun

Sound: Graham Newcombe

Actors: Eva Green, Mark Strong, Cathy Belton, Billie Gadsdon, Chai Fonacier

Production: Lovely Production, Wild Swim Films, Epicmedia Productions Inc, XYZ Films

Producers: Brunella Cocchiglia, Emily Leo

Costumes: Leonie Prendergast

Production Design: Lucy van Lonkhuyzen

Executive producer: Maxime Cottray, Cloé Garbay, David Gilbery, Bastien Sirodot, Marlon Vogelgesang

Make Up: Lynn Johnston, Zoë Gibney

Format: DCP

Color: Color

Production Country: Ireland, Philippines

Production Year: 2022

Duration: 96΄

Contact: NBCUniversal

Lorcan Finnegan

Originally studying graphic design Lorcan moved into motion design, animation, TV commercials and music videos before focusing on longer form filmmaking. His supernatural short film Foxes, premiered at the SXSW and screened in competition at Tribeca and London BFI and picked up an IFTA for Best Short. His first feature, existential folk horror Without Name, starring Alan McKenna and Niamh Algar, premiered at TIFF in the Vanguard selection in 2016. His second feature, sci-fi thriller Vivarium, premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival in Critics Week and won The Gan Foundation Award. As a photographer he published Grannyfashion in 2014, a book of his street photography as part of StudioAad!s Whereweare project. His work has been featured in many international exhibitions and publications including Mexico city, Paris and Berlin and featured as Time Magazine’s top nine street photographers to follow.