Film festival brings economic boost – and top stars – to Schull

STARS like Paul Mescal, Daisy Edgar-Jones, James Nesbitt, and Aidan Gillen helped to bring thousands of people – and an economic boost – to Schull over the course of five days last week, when they attended the Fastnet Film Festival.

Mescal, who bought a house in the area after coming to Schull two years ago, was announced as a patron of the festival at a busy awards ceremony on Sunday night, joining industry heavyweights including producer David Puttnam and actor Saoirse Ronan, who both have homes locally.

The event brought a much-needed pre-summer boost to the coastal town, with restaurants, hotels, pubs and shops feeling the benefit, as most days as provided welcome sunshine for the weekend.

The big winners on Sunday included Northern Irish filmmaker Kris Kelly, who won Best Irish Film for Wind and the Shadow and the UK’s Thom Petty, who won Best International Film for Ticker.

Closer to home, the Jack Gold Prize for Best Direction was awarded to Cork director Lochlainn McKenna for his film Two For The Road, which was produced by West Cork production company Heritage and filmed along the Beara peninsula last year.

The 15th iteration of the festival was bigger than ever, with acting workshops, feature film screenings, Q&A sessions, industry-focused talks, and an Irish language day on Cape Clear all joining the usual programme of short films.

One of the highlights of the week was a reunion of Normal People stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones with director Lenny Abrahamson for a special conversation about the dynamic between actors and directors. The conversation was particularly exciting for James Hegarty – a Daisy Edgar-Jones ‘superfan’ – who travelled from Bantry to meet one of his heroes.

‘It was a dream come true,’ James told The Southern Star. ‘I didn’t think it would happen so it was brilliant to meet the pair of them. I loved Normal People and I’ve seen everything that both of them are in since.

‘The organisers of the festival were so kind and accommodating to me throughout the week, and I’m grateful for the chance to meet both stars,’ added James, who also got the chance to meet the star of the exhilarating documentary One Night in Millstreet, boxer Steve Collins.

Former boxer Steve Collins addressing the crowd before his film One Night in Millstreet was shown at the Schull Harbour Hotel on Saturday.

A total of 519 short films were entered into this year’s festival, from 38 different countries. Focus now turns to next year, as the call for entries was announced for the Fastnet Film Festival’s Puttnam Script Award, which will provide €25,000 towards the production of one live-action short drama. The premiere of the resultant film will be screened in Schull in May 2025.