MACALLA

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MACALLA

By Arun KUMAR

SOMA FILMS LTD. - as PROD

Fantasy - Development 2024

An Irish woman's hostage ordeal, a mischievous sprite who’s lost his laugh and the biggest bank heist in British & Irish history combine to bring peace to an age old conflict.

- Year of production
- 2024
- Genres
- Fantasy, Crime, Thriller
- Countries
- UNITED KINGDOM
- Languages
- ENGLISH
- Budget
- 3 - 5 M$
- Duration
- 100 mn
- Director(s)
- Arun KUMAR
- Writer(s)
- Arun KUMAR, Don EALES
- Producer(s)
- Pól Ó GÉIBHEANNAIGH (Soma Films Ltd)
- Synopsis
- Macalla depicts the interwoven tale of an Irish woman’s hostage ordeal and her encounter with a supernatural Celtic entity set against the background of the biggest and most audacious bank heist in British and Irish history.
  
  The film begins with the taking hostage of Karen McMullen, wife of Northern Bank employee Kevin and her encounter with a hairy otherworldly entity; the Gruagach. Once she is blindfolded the stress and anxiety she feels create the energy which allows the Gruagach to manifest in her mind's eye. In an other-dimensional space, we watch as the Gruagach explains his raison d’être for choosing to speak with her. He lives to laugh. But he has lost his laugh and he needs peace in Ireland in order to get it back. Now is the time for him to act.
  
  Former priest and IRA conduit Denis Bradley meets with the IRA army council. He is informed that demands for a ceasefire, without remuneration for their arsenal, amnesty, and release for their prisoners as well as no enforced public humiliation being pushed for by Unionist politicians, is unacceptable. Bradley leaves dejected knowing this will be a hard sell.
  
  In London, Bradley meets with the established secret backchannel the British security services MI5 case officer Gwen Dare and outlines the IRA’s reticence.
  
  Gwen subsequently meets with her Security Service superiors and their refusal is unequivocal.
  
  The Gruagach tells Karen that this has to be resolved so that he can laugh again. And desperate situations call for desperate measures…
  
  When Bradley and Gwen meet again she explains her bosses have knocked back remuneration for the IRA. Gwen puts forward a solution that is very much off the record.
  
  Bradley meets with the IRA Army Council and explains that terms have been denied but puts forward Gwen’s solution; rob the Northern of the large quantity of cash that will be in store there over the Christmas period The IRA AC are outraged, making it very clear that they are freedom fighters NOT criminals. Bradley leaves the meeting downcast but is accosted by Bobby Storey, who relieves Bradley of the memo saying that he’ll take care of it and bring about the much-desired peace.
  
  Meanwhile, Karen and the Gruagach are watching all these events unfold in the other-dimensional space.
  
  We then see Kevin and Chris Ward the bank employees with their captors being given instructions. They set about to go about their work as normal but also to rob the Northern Bank firstly with a dry run of 1 million pounds, which goes according to plan. Then the main heist takes place.
  
  Karen is released into a dense forest after her captor is informed the heist has gone to plan. She is delirious, and stumbling through the forest she sees the Gruagach once more. She shrieks and falls back but he reassures her to have no fear and laughs. His laugh echoes through the forest. She is safe and he has his laugh back.