Cherrybomb Campaign Pays Off

There was a bit of magic this week for one of the stars of the hugely successful Harry Potter series of movies.

Even though Rupert Grint appeared in the independent Co Antrim-made film Cherrybomb, it still failed to attract a national and international distributor.

Undeterred, Grint's supporters set up a campaign to petition for its cinematic release.

Belfast-based Lisa Barros D'Sa, who co-directed the film with Glenn Leyburn, (both pictured here) said they were astonished by the fervour of the fans who built up the momentum of the campaign.

This week it paid off, as a Los Angeles distributor contacted The Little Film Company, Cherrybomb's sales agent, to enquire about its release.

Backed by a website petition and Facebook group boasting more than 10,000 supporters, including over 1,000 Britons, producers secured a major distributor in Britain.

Details of the release - planned for early next year - will be announced this week. The Little Film Company has also confirmed it is indeed in negotiation with an American distributor.

Grint said he was delighted by the fighting spirit of his fans: "I am backing this campaign wholeheartedly," he said.

"I'm delighted by the huge support the film has received on the official Facebook page and other sites on the web and am so grateful to my fans in particular, who have travelled the world to support the film at festivals and preview screenings."

The drama also stars James Nesbitt, Kimberley Nixon and Robert Sheehan and is set in post-Troubles Belfast.

Grint plays a teenager who takes drugs and is featured in intimate bedroom scenes with Nixon, roles far removed from Harry Potter.

Robbie Little, the co-president of The Little Film Company, said the Internet campaign unquestionably helped the film's success in attracting a distributor.

See: 'Cherrybomb' Distributor Bid Intensifies

(BMcC/KMcA)