Queen's Graduate, Andrew Tohill, makes it onto the big screen with The Dig

13 May 2019

Queen's University Belfast Film studies graduate, Andrew Tohill, has made it onto the big screen with new film The Dig, which he directed and filmed with his twin brother, Ryan Tohill.

Andy and Ryan Tohill are a Belfast duo who have worked on hit TV and film, including Game of Thrones, Line of Duty, The Fall and 2013 feature film, Philomena, which starred Judi Dench and Steve Coogan.

Andrew graduated from Queen's in 2004 with a BA in Film Studies, during which he studied the work of directors such as Abbas Kiarostami and Charlie Chaplin, and set his mind on a film-making career: "Having the opportunity to work with other like-minded students on the practical aspects of the course, confirmed to me that this was the career I wanted to pursue and motivated me to continually strive for bigger and more ambitious projects." 

After his degree, he spend a decade building up a résumé of work on various film sets and worked as a TV and Film editor in post-production. He is working at post-production company Yellow Door, in Holywood.

His twin brother, Ryan, with whom he also directed The Dig, specialised in visual arts at Ulster University and has been working on HBO's hit TV show Game of Thrones for 10 years, from episode one, in 2009. Thrones is now in its eighth and final season.

"Together, over these 10 years, we continuously developed our film projects, refining our skills within the industry. After a successive number of short films, making the step to our first feature The Dig in late 2017, felt like a natural progression. 

"Accomplishing this with my brother was nothing short of a dream come true, one that had its humble beginnings at the entrance to Queens University Belfast."

The Dig, the brothers' first feature-length film, has previously won Best Irish Feature at the Galway Film Fleadh in 2018 and after an initial premier at the Toronto Film Festival, the film had a cinematic release throughout Ireland, and recently played at Movie House cinemas and Queen' Film Theatre. The film also closed the Belfast Film Festival last month.

This thrilling feature film about murder and revenge was written by Stuart Drennan, produced by Brian J. Falconer and stars Moe Dunford, who fans will recognise as Aethelwulf in Vikings. The film was shot entirely in Northern Ireland with funding from the Northern Ireland Screen Fund and post-production house, Yellow Moon.

The story follows Ronan Callahan (Moe Dunford), a convicted murderer on return to his small village where he will face off with the father of his victim as he searches for his daughter's body.

The Dig had an initial release on 14 March and is playing in the QFT this May. To keep up-to-date with showings, visit https://queensfilmtheatre.com/

To submit graduate news items, or for general enquiries about this story, please contact Gerry Power, Communications Officer, Development and Alumni Relations Office, Queen's University Belfast or telephone: +44 (0)28 9097 5321.

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