“Saipan,” 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’s World Cup.
Sunrise Films has acquired North American rights to the film, starring BAFTA nominee Éanna Hardwicke as Keane and two-time Oscar nominee Steve Coogan as McCarthy, from Bankside Films. Sunrise is now planning a theatrical release in select U.S. cinemas on March 13.
Directed by Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn, “Saipan” chronicles one on most notorious moments in Irish sporting history and the events leading up to Ireland’s 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…