Ireland's sole representation in competition at the 54th Cannes Film Festival next month will be a three-minute short film, Chicken, produced and directed by Barry Dignam and written by Audrey O'Reilly.
Set on a beach at dusk, it features Darren Healy and Niall O'Shea as two boys who engage in a game of dare which tests the limits of their trust.
"When I sent the tape of the film to the Cannes committee, it felt a bit like doing a lottery ticket," Mr Dignam told The Irish Times yesterday. "I really wasn't expecting to hear anything back from them. When I got the call saying I had been selected for the festival, it was a big surprise."
Born in Dublin and based in Kildare, Mr Dignam (30) made Chicken on a budget of £10,000 as part of the Irish Film Board's "Short Shorts" scheme, and it was shot on location in Co Wicklow last December.
A graduate of Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Mr Dignam won a 1998 Royal Television Society award for best student film.