Biography

Anthony Byrne was born in Dublin, Ireland, in September 1975. After graduating in Design Visual Media & Photography from DIT in 1996, he was offered an internship with Oliver Stone’s production company “Illusion Entertainment” in Los Angeles.

Within a few years, Byrne had written and directed two short films, ‘Clubbing’ and ‘Freaky Deaky 10 to 1′ (1999/2000), before writing and directing his third, award-winning short ‘ “Meeting Che Guevara & the Man from Maybury Hill” (2002/3), starring John Hurt.

“Meeting Che Guevara & the Man from Maybury Hill” has screened at over fifty international film festivals and won several awards, including the Irish Film & Television (IFTA) Award for Best Short Film in 2003. The film enjoyed a theatrical release in Ireland and has since been acquired for broadcast by the Sundance Channel in America, CBC in Canada and Canal+.

He went into production in September 2004 with his debut feature film ‘Short Order’, which he wrote & directed.

‘Short Order’ was developed with funding from the IFB, Hamburg Film Fund, MEDIA and Eurimage. The cast included Emma de Caunes, Rade Serbedzija, Vanessa Redgrave, Jack Dee, and again John Hurt who had enjoyed working with the young director previously.

“Byrne’s distinctive visual style of film making, so evident in his short films, now spread to a much larger cinematic canvas.” ‘Short Order’ was released to wide critical acclaim and was nominated for 8 IFTA awards, including Best Writer and Best Director in 2006.

‘How About You’, Anthony Byrne’s second feature film, was produced by Noel Pearson (My Left Foot, The Field, Dancing at Lughnasa) and starred Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Redgrave, Imelda Stauton, Brenda Fricker and Joss Ackland.

Byrne has directed two series of “Single-Handed”, a two-hour drama for RTE/Touchpaper TV written by Barry Simner (The Vice), to huge ratings and much critical acclaim in 2008. The latest two part drama will be broadcast on Easter Sunday 2009.

Anthony has just finished the eagerly anticipated feature adaptation of Edna O’Brien’s novel “Wild Decembers”. The film starred Lara Belmont, Owen Mc Donnell and Matt Ryan. The film is due for Festival release later this year.

His exhibition of Photography entitled “No Direction” debuted at The Back Loft in Dublin on March 26th 2009. It moves to Maison Bertaux in Soho, London on April 22nd. It will later return to Dublin at the end of the year in the Tramyard Gallery in Dalkey.

Anthony Byrne is represented by Josh Varney at Independent Talent Group (ITG) London & David Flynn at United Talent Agency (UTA) in Los Angeles.

Filmography

“Wild December’s” 2009, dur 88mins (Feature Film)

“Single-Handed” “The Drowning Man” 2009, dur: 2×1 hour for RTE/Touchpaper (TV Drama)

“Single-Handed” “The Stolen Child” 2008, dur: 2X1 hour for RTE/Touchpaper (TV Drama)

“How About You” 2007, dur: 90mins (Feature Film)

“Short Order” 2005, dur: 100mins (Feature Film)

Nominated for 8 IFTA Awards including Best Writer & Best Director.

“Meeting Che Guevara & the Man from Maybury Hill” 2002, dur: 18mins (Short Film)

Awards for “Meeting Che Guevara & the Man from Maybury Hill”

Best Irish Short IFTA 2003

Best Short Film Wine County Film Festival USA 2003

Best Short Film Temple Bar “Diversions” Outdoor Festival 2003

Best Irish Short Kerry Film Festival 2003

Special Mention Grande Prix du Fiction Aubagne France 2003

“Freaky Deaky 10 to 1″ 2000, dur: 10mins (Short Film)

“Clubbing” 1999, dur: 10mins (Short Film)

Photography Exhibitions

The London Art Fair, Art Projects, The Cynthia Corbett Gallery, London 2010

The Back Loft, St Augustine St, 26th March – 1st April 2009

Maison Bertaux, Greek Street, Soho, London, 22nd April – 31st May