Offaly filmmakers attend Hollywood pre-Oscar bash

The cast and crew of a new independent film by Offaly-based filmmakers Mixed Bag Media attended the famous Oscar Wilde Party in Hollywood, last Thursday, which celebrates the role of the Irish in film. The glamorous bash took place at Bad Robot Studios, the headquarters of Star Wars and Star Trek filmmaker JJ Abrams.

Invited to attend the renowned pre-Oscars event by the US-Ireland Alliance, actors Gerard McCarthy (RTÉ’s The Fall, Channel 4’s Hollyoaks), Tara Breathneach (BBC’s The Last Days of Anne Boleyn), Muireann Bird (RTÉ’s Rough Diamond; TV3’s Jack Taylor), and filmmakers Martina McGlynn and Garret Daly who be introduced their independently-produced film ‘A Nightingale Falling’ to the Hollywood elite and the foreign press.

Due out later this year, McGlynn and Daly seized this amazing opportunity to showcase the film’s stars to the Hollywood press and meet some of the biggest names within the entertainment business.

Shot in Offaly and Westmeath last July by Daingean-based production company Mixed Bag Media, the film has gathered incredible momentum months before its release. In addition to the film’s stars, A Nightingale Falling also featured many local people in acting and production roles.

Mixed Bag Media previously had international success with their award-winning documentary, Who Is Dervla Murphy?, about Ireland’s foremost travel writer.

Trina Vargo, founder of the US-Ireland Alliance and creator of The Oscar Wilde Party in Hollywood, said:

“We’re delighted that those involved with ‘A Nightingale Falling’ walked our ‘green’ carpet this year. Mixed Bag Media's documentary about Dervla Murphy was a bit hit when we screened it at various locations around the US.  We’re looking forward to their first feature, and to screening it Hollywood in June.”

Co-director and produced by husband and wife team Martina McGlynn and Garret Daly, they have said: “This is a huge honour. We were determined from the outset to make this film and now here we are in Hollywood! What a start for our small movie.”

Made without the assistance of any state film support, this privately-backed film is now being touted as a miracle breakthrough indie movie. A Nightingale Falling tells the story of two sisters whose lives are changed forever when they decide to care for a wounded soldier during Ireland’s War of Independence.

“It’s a great Irish story from an important period in our history. I’m proud that we’ve delivered a high quality film and it’s a testament to all the artists and crew who all took a chance on a great drama,” said Garret Daly.

The film is based on the book of the same name by writer PJ Curtis from Co.Clare.

With post production almost completed on the picture the filmmakers will be returning to LA in June for a special industry screening that will see this independent film on the big screen in front of some key filmmaking executives.

Martina’s ensemble was designed by Meritta Gorman Geoghegan, formally of Daingean, who runs Ail Ruin Design Centre in Clarinbridge, Co. Galway.

A Nightingale Falling is due for a cinema release in Ireland later this year.