Logline:

A neon sign-maker has his solitude interrupted by an energetic young intruder. Can these men forge a kinship amidst the flickering of neon lights?

Format: 4:3 - Digital Running Time: 14 min Genre: Drama Rating: PG Language(s): English Year of production: 2021 Country: Ireland

Written and directed by James Doherty and produced by Nicky Gogan, with the support of Screen Ireland’s Focus Shorts scheme.

Featuring Lalor Roddy (HUNGER, ORDINARY LOVE, MAZE) and Dane Whyte O'Hara (DARKLANDS).

Writer/Director Intention Note

Neon & Argon is a film about how traditional masculinity can leave men unequipped to deal with expressing our needs. My early working life on building sites in Donegal was filled with characters like this; grunting, cursing and threats commonplace. Guidance or an encouraging word, not so much. In a neon workshop one man struggles to find his path and another man is isolated, having not passed on the torch. It asks, will they be able to see they can be useful forces in each other's lives?

Director - James Doherty

James Doherty is a filmmaker and visual artist working primarily in drama, with a particular focus on intense stories of troubled characters on the fringes of society.

His debut short film BREATHE won awards internationally and was showcased by the BFI and British Council. NEON MEETS ARGON, a neon-infused drama about an apprenticeship is in post-production with Screen Ireland's Focus Shorts scheme, and his debut feature LET US LIVE has been selected for Torino Film Lab Next 2021.

He has also produced animated short BAD ADVICE, and the BAFTA longlisted MEMOIRS OF A GEEZA. James also works in animation, collaborating with musicians Tame Impala, Billie Eilish and Katy Perry, plus animating for Disney, Sony Pictures, Ben Wheatley and Richard Ayoade along the way.

James graduated from DCU and London Film School’s Screenwriting MA.

Cast/Crew Producer(s): Nicky Gogan Director(s): James Doherty Cinematographer: Simon Crowe Cast: Lalor Roddy, Dane Whyte O'Hara

Contact Producer: Nicky Gogan Company: Piranha Bar Email: [email protected] Tel: +353 (86) 0251117