Dervla Kirwan wins Best Actress Award for Branko Tomovic's thriller RED

The Flagship City International Film Festival just announced their 2017 winners and amongst them is Irish actress Dervla Kirwan who stars in the dark thriller Red directed by Branko Tomovic.

Red is set in the underground world of illegal organ smuggling, the so-called red market. Niklas, a surgeon who lives a life of solitude and is tormented by self hatred, performs regular illegal surgeries for the red market. He works together with Mia, a young prostitute who lures her clients in and drugs them. Niklas is looking for a way out of this dark world, but owes his life to their violent crime boss Ed, who would rather kill him then let him go.

It's the directing debut of Branko Tomovic (24: Live Another Day, Fury, Luna) and stars Francesca Fowler (Doctor Who, Rome, Closure) with Dervla Kirwan (Ondine, Ballykissangel, The Silence, Doctor Who) as the violent and cruel crime boss.

"Dervla's character Ed was originally written for a man. Ed is the violent crime boss, the scariest person you’ll ever meet. Very intelligent and charismatic, a very important high-ranking figure in the organ trade. The puppet master who controls the fate of many lives. Very powerful with a sadistic streak. I had Dennis Hopper's crazy character Frank Booth from Blue Velvet in mind when I wrote the script. But then I thought it would be much more interesting to have a woman play this part. We were looking for someone extraordinary with gravitas and outstanding talent - and Dervla is the perfect choice to portray such an intense and charismatic role. She is an exceptionally gifted and brilliant actress, we were so lucky to get her." says director Branko Tomovic.

The film is still doing the festival circuit at the moment and has already won numerous awards and nominations, including San Diego International Film Festival, Tangier International Film Festival, the European Film Award qualifying International Short Film Festival in Drama, Naperville Independent Film Festival, Maverick Movie Awards, Winchester Short Film Festival, North Hollywood Cinefest, Berlin Independent Film Festival, the BAFTA qualifying Carmarthen Bay Film Festival and Scenecs Film Festival.

The Flagship City International Film Festival features a diverse range of genres from independent filmmakers and showcases some of the best independent movies from around the world.