Ciarán Foy

Ciarán Foy
Born
Alma materIADT
OccupationsFilm director, screenwriter
Years active2001-present
Notable workSinister 2
Citadel
Eli

Ciarán Foy (born 1979) is an Irish film director and screenwriter, best known for directing and writing Citadel and directing Sinister 2 and Eli.

Early life

Foy was born in Northside Dublin in October 1979 and graduated from the National Film School.[1][2]

Career

In 2006, Foy directed an award-winning short film The Faeries of Blackheath Woods based on his own script.[3]

In 2012, Foy wrote and directed his feature film debut, an Irish psychological horror Citadel, starring Aneurin Barnard in the lead role.[3] The film premiered at the South by Southwest festival on 11 March 2012 and won several awards.[3][4][1][2]

Foy next directed the supernatural horror film Sinister 2 for Blumhouse Productions, starring James Ransone and Shannyn Sossamon.[5][3] The film was written by Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, and was released on 21 August 2015 by Focus Features' label Gramercy Pictures.[6] Derrickson secured Foy the directing job of the film after watching Citadel.[7]

Foy directed a number of commercials for clients such as Samsung and Bord Failte. He won a YDA Award at Cannes, a D&AD nomination and a Kinsale Shark Award for his PlayStation spot "Our Shoes". In 2019 Foy directed the Netflix horror Eli and soon after directed two episodes of The Haunting Of Bly Manor.

In 2020 Foy and co‑writer Kyle Ward originated a pitch to adapt American Reaper, a graphic novel by Pat Mills and artist Clint Langley (originally in Judge Dredd Megazine), into a feature film. The project was optioned by Amblin Partners with Intrepid Pictures producing.[8]

In 2022 and 2023 Foy directed three episodes of the Netflix show Sweet Tooth.

Filmography

Feature films

Year Title Director Writer
2012 Citadel Yes Yes
2015 Sinister 2 Yes No
2019 Eli Yes No

Short films

Year Title Director Writer Editor Notes
2001 1902 Yes Yes Yes Also producer
2001 Wired 03:36 Yes Yes Yes Also producer
2002 The Puppet Yes Yes Yes
2006 The Faeries of Blackheath Woods Yes Yes Yes
2007 Scumbot Yes Yes Yes
2009 The Chronoscope No No Yes
2009 Lonely Hearts[9] Yes Yes No Segment of Hotel Darklight
2015 Mikayla W.M.D.[10] Yes Yes No Unreleased

Television

Year Title Director Notes
2016 The Wilding Yes Unaired pilot
2020 The Haunting of Bly Manor Yes 2 episodes
2023-24 Sweet Tooth Yes 3 episodes

References

  1. ^ a b "Interview: Ciarán Foy, director of 'Citadel'". filmireland.net. 20 June 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b Cronin, Kevin (23 April 2013). "Director Ciarán Foy's Horror 'Citadel' Wins Best Feature at the Imagine Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival". iftn.ie. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d Fleming, Mike Jr. (18 August 2015). "'Sinister' Alliance Continues As Helmer Ciaran Foy And Blumhouse Scare Up New Thriller 'The Shee'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  4. ^ "JOE meets the director of Irish horror Citadel, Ciaran Foy". joe.ie. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  5. ^ Kit, Borys (17 April 2014). "'Sinister 2' Moving Ahead With 'Citadel' Director". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  6. ^ Petski, Denise (20 May 2015). "Focus Features Revives Gramercy Pictures Label For Genre Films". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Tweet helped Dublin director get Sinister 2 job". rte.ie. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  8. ^ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/amblin-to-adapt-comic-american-reaper-with-mike-flanagan-sinister-2-director-ciaran-foy-exclusive-4048583/
  9. ^ https://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4282729&tpl=archnews&force=1
  10. ^ https://www.patrickjordan.ie/archive/mikayla-wmd