{"id":426110,"date":"2026-01-22T15:33:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/426110\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T15:33:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:33:16","slug":"soccer-drama-saipan-sets-us-release-with-sunrise-films","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/426110\/","title":{"rendered":"Soccer Drama Saipan Sets US Release With Sunrise Films"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cSaipan<\/a>,\u201d the critically acclaimed Irish drama about the infamous fallout between former Irish soccer star Roy Keane and national team manager Mick McCarthy, is heading to the U.S. just in time for this summer\u2019s World Cup. <\/p>\n

\n\tSunrise Films<\/a> has acquired North American rights to the film, starring BAFTA nominee \u00c9anna Hardwicke<\/a> (\u201cLakelands,\u201d \u201cThe Sixth Commandment\u201d) as Keane and two-time Oscar nominee Steve Coogan<\/a> (\u201cPhilomena,\u201d \u201cThe Reckoning\u201d) as McCarthy, from Bankside Films. Sunrise is now planning a theatrical release in select U.S. cinemas on March 13. <\/p>\n

\n\tDirected by Lisa Barros D\u2019Sa and Glenn Leyburn (\u201cGood Vibrations,\u201d \u201cOrdinary Love\u201d), \u201cSaipan\u201d chronicles one on most notorious moments in Irish sporting history and the events leading up to Ireland\u2019s incendiary 2002 World Cup campaign. While preparing for the tournament on the Japanese island of Saipan, the famously hot-headed Irish captain Keane had a very public, very bitter disagreement with manager McCarthy, resulting in him flying home before it even began. Described as a \u201ctrue-life comedy of the most epic proportions,\u201d the film explores this intense rivalry, one that gripped an entire nation and transcended the game. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSaipan\u201d is based on an original script by Paul Fraser (\u201cHeartlands,\u201d \u201cA Room for Romeo Brass\u201d) and also stars Alice Lowe (\u201cSightseers\u201d), Jamie Beamish (\u201cDerry Girls\u201d), Alex Murphy (\u201cThe Young Offenders\u201d), Harriet Cains (\u201cBridgerton\u201d) and Peter McDonald (\u201cThe Batman\u201d).<\/p>\n

\n\tIt has already proved to be a box office hit in Ireland, where it\u2019s expected to cross $1m at the box office this weekend, and will be released theatrically in the United Kingdom by Vertigo Releasing on Jan. 23.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are delighted to be releasing \u2018Saipan\u2019 to audiences in North America following its rollout across the U.K.,\u201d said Sunrise\u2019s head of U.S. and international distribution Andrew Nerger. \u201cSteve Coogan and \u00c9anna Hardwicke are utterly brilliant in their roles, elevating the film into a compelling character study that transcends football and should connect with audiences well beyond the sport. With another World Cup year approaching and the Republic of Ireland in contention for qualification for the first time since the events depicted in 2002, it\u2019s never been more timely to go back to \u2018Saipan\u2019 in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe deal was negotiated by Nerger on behalf of Sunrise with Yana Georgieva and Kriszta Laszlo of Bankside Films, representing the filmmakers.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film was produced by Macdara Kelleher and John Keville for Wild Atlantic Pictures (\u201cEvil Dead Rise,\u201d \u201cCocaine Bear,\u201d \u201cBlack 47\u201d) along with Trevor Birney and Oliver Butler for Fine Point Films (\u201cKneecap,\u201d \u201cNo Stone Unturned\u201d) with Patrick O\u2019Neill and Rachael O\u2019Kane serving as executive producers.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSaipan\u201d is made in association with F\u00eds \u00c9ireann\/Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen. Greg Martin is executive producer for Screen Ireland, with Ursula Devine executive producer for Northern Ireland Screen. Funding has also been provided from BFI Global Screen, Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n and RT\u00c9. Bankside Films are handling worldwide sales.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cSaipan,\u201d the critically acclaimed Irish drama about the infamous fallout between former Irish soccer star Roy Keane and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426111,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,66587,561,82,67453,178046,178045],"class_list":["post-426110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-saipan","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-steve-coogan","tag-sunrise-films","tag-u00c9anna-hardwicke"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}