Dark Horse

SYNOPSIS

Set in a former mining village in Wales, against the backdrop of the current recession, DARK HORSE is the inspirational true story of a group of friends from a working men’s club who decide to take on the elite ‘sport of kings’ and breed themselves a racehorse.  Raised on a slagheap allotment, their foal grows into an unlikely champion, beating the finest thoroughbreds in the land, before suffering a near fatal accident. Nursed back to health by the love of his owners – for whom he’s become a source of inspiration and hope – he makes a remarkable recovery, returning to the track for a heart-stopping comeback.

WELSH CONNECTIONS

Filming Locations: Cefn Forest
Set in: Cefn Forest
Producer: Paul Higgins
Gyda chefnogaeth: Ffilm Cymru Wales
Cast: Howard Davies, Brian ‘Daisy’ Vokes, Tony Kerby, Mauren Jones, Eira Williams, Derek Williams, Johnson White, Sarah Hobbs, Andy Smith

PRODUCTION DETAILS

Director: Louise Osmond
Production Company: Darlow Smithson Productions

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Running time: 85 minutes
Certificate: PG
Format: Cinema, DVD
Language: English

RELEASE

Dyddiad: 16th April 2015

LINKS

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Visit Channel 4 reviews here
Visit Picturehouse Entertainment news here FAN BFI a here
Visit BFI news here

“Dark Horse is a shuddering, but delicately handled, exploration of that most basic human desire: to leave a mark and to forge a legacy. The people of Cefn Fforest can rest assured – their story will not easily be forgotten.” – The Telegraph

FILM HUB WALES PROJECTS

Film Hub Wales worked closely with Picturehouse Entertainment on the Welsh-set documentary Dark Horse (2015). The film release was backed with a Breakout award from the BFI Distribution Fund and the production was funded by the BFI Film Fund, alongside Ffilm Cymru Wales.

“[The Hub] was really helpful in connecting us to the right people and coming along and supporting it. We had Welsh celebrities coming out and a red carpet premiere. That was really helpful to have that support for that.”

Jon Barrenechea, Picturehouse Entertainment

We included Dark Horse at two Preview Day events in January 2015, one of which was attended by the Picturehouse Entertainment team and it also featured at a Hub member networking event in Cardiff. We also worked with the BFI to secure an earlier window for non-theatrical bookings for Hub members. The film was one of the top three supported and performing Welsh film titles between 2013-2017 with supported screenings including at Theatr Gwaun and The Ffrwrnes.

“At the Welsh Film Preview Day […] the film ‘Dark Horse’ stood out as the ‘must screen’ film for our venue; indeed, when the film ratings were published following the preview day, it became obvious that the audience thought the same way […] The staff & volunteers were delighted but slightly overwhelmed by the volume of people coming through the door […] The film was really well received which was shown by the applause at the end.”

Theatr Gwaun 2015

Distributor: Picturehouse
Contact:
 mike.m@picturehouses.co.uk

 

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