A DOCUMENTARY film which follows reporter Charlie Bird working on his last news story while battling illness will open this year’s Fastnet Film Festival, which will also see actors Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar Jones visiting the town.
Ransom ‘79 will be screened on Wednesday, May 22nd at 8 pm at the Schull Harbour Hotel.
It follows Bird following his last story – while struggling with motor neurone disease. Charlie Bird died in March, aged 74.
Charlie’s wife Claire is an associate producer of the film and will be part of a Q&A after the screening, along with director Colm Quinn, producer John Kelleher, and writer Colin Murphy, moderated by Niamh Fagan of Screen Ireland.
The Fastnet Film festival will take place in Schull from Wednesday, May 22nd to Sunday, May 26th with more than 200 short films, 18 feature-length films, workshops, and masterclasses with international experts.
Ransom ‘79, follows iconic Irish reporter Charlie Bird from 2021 as he followed a tip-off reopening a criminal case 1979, where a gang threatened to destroy the Irish economy by releasing foot and mouth disease into the national herd, unless paid £5m.
Bird was joined on his journey by journalist and writer Colin Murphy.
The investigation brought the pair around country, following leads, interviewing former guards and politicians, and attempting to find the gang – even as Charlie’s condition deteriorates.
Schull is a familiar setting for Ransom ’79 director Colm Quinn.
He co-directed with Jim Sheridan the Sky series Murder at the Cottage: The Search for Justice for Sophie on the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in Toormore and subsequent investigation.
Meanwhile, a special screening of the award-winning film That They May Face The Rising Sun directed by Drimoleague’s Pat Collins will be screened on the outdoor screen in the park in Schull as part of the Fastnet Film Festival.
The screening takes place on Sunday May 26th, with an introduction from Baltimore-based Pat.
The film captures a year in the life of a rural, lakeside community in Ireland in the 1970s, and is an adaptation of the final novel from celebrated Irish novelist John McGahern.
The film stars Barry Ward and Anna Bederke in the lead roles, with support from Lalor Roddy, Sean McGinley, Ruth McCabe, and first-time actor Phillip Dolan.
It won best film at the 2024 Irish Film and Television Awards, and previously won the best Irish film at the 2023 Dublin International Film Festival and
All tickets for this year’s festival are on sale now through Eventbrite and at the festival box-office.
See fastnetfilmfestival.com for more.
