€2,000 film nets coveted award

A PRESTIGIOUS Tinny Award is holding pride of place in a south Tipperary town following the weekend success of community film Race the Drop.

Featuring a cast and crew of almost 100 newcomers from across the region, the film beat off competition from Sweden, Bulgaria, the US and Japan to win the Best Community Film gong at the Swansea International Festival at the weekend.

Made on a budget of about €2,000, Race the Drop was written, produced and directed by Will Nugent and made in the area around Ardfinnan, a few kilometres from Clonmel.

Everyone worked for free, while the camera was borrowed from the South Tipperary Arts Centre.

The period drama tells the story of a young man accused of murdering a landlord’s agent.

While Mr Nugent admitted yesterday that he was concerned about how such a rural Irish story would travel abroad, the production proved a huge hit at Swansea.

“International film-makers were just charmed by the whole thing, and the judges were too. Everyone was just blown away that so many ordinary people would come together and put in the commitment for nothing,” he said.

Mr Nugent said he was delighted for all involved in the film, and reserved special thanks for Kiara Heffernan who devoted hundreds of hours to the production, and his sister Carmel.

A total of 1,172 films worldwide were submitted to the Swansea International Film Festival, with 301 of those chosen for screening. Twenty were then nominated for awards in four categories.

“The standard was fantastic. I honestly didn’t think we’d come anywhere near the top of the poll,” said Mr Nugent.

“We were up against people with sponsorship from their national film boards and budgets of up to €50,000.

“I still can’t believe we won. It’s like our under-12s winning the World Cup or something.”

Next on the agenda for Race the Drop is the Everglades International Film Festival in South Africa later in the summer, the biggest event of its kind on the African continent.

Those behind the film also hope that its success in Swansea will help get it on the agenda at Irish film festivals, with next month’s Galway Film Fleadh an initial target.

Meanwhile, pre-production is already taking place on a prequel to Race the Drop, set in 1827 and telling the tale of the families of five men hanged on the Green in Ardfinnan.