VIDEO: A short film about Irishness and pride

"A young man is on the brink of emigration, but as he races through the streets of Dublin he comes to realise the spirit he’s leaving behind."

St Patrick's Day looms on the horizon, and thoughts turn to what it means to be Irish.

One perspective is offered in the award-winning short film Origin, which begins in a setting familiar to many - a young man in an airport check-in queue, preparing to leave Ireland for pastures new.

Watch the full film below:

Origin was made by a group of filmmakers and friends collectively known as Souljacker, and nominated for Best Animation at the 2012 Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs).

Having been well received on the festival circuit - including a Best Animated Short gong at the Blackrock Animation Film Festival - the lads at Souljacker have just released it on the web.

"The film was made with funding from the Irish Film Board Short Shorts programme," producer Sean Smith of Souljacker told us.

"The theme was 'Ireland I Love You' and we thought that with St Patrick's Day coming up soon it would be a good time to release it online so that more people would see it."

"With everything going on in Ireland at the moment it’s easy to get frustrated," writer and director James Stacey said.

"This project was intended to show that there is still a lot of energy and vitality running through the country and with a change of perception we could tap into some of it.

"The film has our hero bridge the gap between old and new and in doing so frees himself from the frustrated mindset we see him at the start."

MORE: Behind the scenes - the making of Origin