Actors hoping to wrap up fundraising effort to get Empire of Dirt off the ground

A group of actors hoping to make Cork the landscape for their upcoming feature film have raised more than €11,000 in financial backing through crowd-funding.

Picture: Darren Kelleher, left, director, with cast members Nina Therese Ní Mendes, Alma Kickham, Owen O’Mahony, Miriam Kelleher, Emily O’Mahony, and Deirdre Dunlea from Actorsvision/Bolt productions, who are fundraising for their forthcoming film ‘Empire Of Dirt’.

With just 16 days left to raise the additional €23,000 needed to get the project off the ground, Actorsvision — a group of actors based in Cork — are hoping their kickstarter campaign will be a success.

Empire of Dirt tells the tale of a wild band of natives in 18th century Ireland, struggling to keep their settlement from descending into anarchy. The group plans to begin filming this summer across a number of locations in Co Cork including Gougane Barra, Glengarriff, Bantry, Kinsale, Barleycove, and Kealkil.

Director Darren Kelleher said the group is hoping to build on the success of The Young Offenders by showcasing local talent. A comedy written, directed, and co-produced by Peter Foott, The Young Offenders was based around the seizure off the West Cork coast of a major cocaine haul.

“Sometimes, if you live in Cork or you live in Limerick, you might think ‘Ah sure look, I live in a small city’ but the closeness to something big, the line between here and something big is so small,” said Darren.

“Ireland is a small country. If you get into something of quality it will draw a spotlight to you. The Young Offenders is a testament to that. It’s phenomenal what talent we actually do have in this country.

“It’s a local production trying to do something on an international scale and we just need a little bit of a push to get there.

“We just need as little as €1 from enough people to get us over the line. It’s a film made in Cork, of Cork, by Cork. Like The Young Offenders, if you are doing something that shows off the landscape that then travels internationally, we all benefit from that.”

The group decided to create their own opportunity, instead of waiting for one to arrive, Darren said.

“We’re trying to provide [the actors] with an opportunity to create their own work because a lot of actors are waiting for their break so we have to get busy while we’re waiting.

“I think a lot of actors sit around waiting for the call and the danger is when you’re waiting for somebody to give you an opportunity, that can take years.

“It’s not until you’re on the job doing something every day do you really learn your job. No degree can give you that.”

The director said the group is hopeful they reach the required target of €35,000.

“If you don’t reach your target you lose it all.

“I’m not a mathematician but I’ve made so many calculations in my head the last week, you wouldn’t believe!

“If you got 35,000 people to put in a euro — you can pledge as little as a euro.”