30th October 2005
North Wales Weekly News
A FILM-MAKER whose latest movie has been described as North Wales' version of Lord of the Rings
Hopes it will be picked to appear at a major event. Director Michael McMahon, formerly of Rhyl, is aiming to get his short movie Hawk shown at the Cannes Film Festival next year.
The former Rhyl High School pupil met with success two years ago when his film Southside was premiered at the Pictures at the Piano Film Festival. 'If Hawk is chosen by Cannes then we will be over the moon,' he replied. 'We have to submit the film to Cannes and if it is selected then it will be shown to an international audience. If we are able to gain this kind of exposure with Hawk then it would really help towards promoting the movie.'
Hawk is a tale of ancient gods, spirits and paganism and was filmed in Capel Curig, near Snowdonia. The 20-minute film follows the life of Rowan who is brought up by his grandfather Gawain and one of the common themes in the movie is a Harris hawk from South America.
It stars well-known Welsh actor Philip Madoc and also features Rhyl-based Barry Cockers who plays the Antlered God. 'The hawk is the symbol of Rowan's journey from a boy to man,' added Michael, 28 who lives in London. ' Hawk the movie is a fantasy drama which features mysticism and paganism.
'It's not that it's against Christianity but this was the religion practiced back then. We deliberately didn't have a set era for the film but its based on historic Welsh times and is similar to the Lord of the Rings in the sense that it's a mini epic.
'At the moment we are in post-production where we will add computer generated images (CGI) and a Welsh choir. We hope it will be premiered at the BAFTA building next year and at NEWI in Wrexham on St. David's Day as this would be a great boost for us.'
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