Kerry writer upbeat about prospects for debut film

THE first week of October represents another forward step in the burgeoning career of Kerry filmmaker Gerard Barrett with the premiere of his debut feature film, Pilgrim’s Hill, in his native Listowel.

The 23-year-old writer and director is upbeat about the film’s commercial prospects: “The response from selected audiences at test screenings has been very positive and I hope it will be the same with the general public,” he says. After the success of his short film, The Valley of Knockanure, and his two plays, Dacent Savage and The Job, Barrett was able to gather independent funding to shoot his debut feature.

“It was important for me to do this now. Pilgrim Hill tells the story of a small farmer in rural Ireland, struggling with both his personal and farming life.

“It was a story I wanted to tell and if I did not tell it now then the locations of small farms would be gone.”

Barrett wanted to highlight the struggle that small farmers are going through now and what the future may hold for them: “We all know these people, bachelors living on the side of mountains who are just existing. They never saw the Celtic Tiger, not to mind benefit from it. I wanted to explore their lives and develop a character that an audience can relate to. I think the majority of people in Ireland have an uncle like that, someone who never got away and got trapped at home.”

After its premiere in Listowel, Pilgrim Hill will be entered in film festivals worldwide. Immediately after finishing shooting the film earlier this summer, Barrett was offered a job with Oscar winning Dublin animation company, Brown Bag Films and Disney. Also this year, Barrett was signed to the Troika Talent Agency in London, the same company which also represents his fellow county man and Killarney native Michael Fassbender, with whom he is hoping to work on a project with very soon.

“Again surreal. You work so hard to get noticed by an agency and then you have one of this quality. Pilgrim Hill really got it for me, they loved the script and took me on with that.”

Up next for the Listowel native is the film adaptation of his play The Job. “I’m working on the screenplay at present, and we would hope to begin filming in 2012,” he disclosed.