A DOCUMENTARY which tells the story of Irish emigration has won an award at a prestigious film festival.
From that Small Island – The Story of the Irish won the Outstanding International Documentary Award at the Newport Beach International Film Festival, where it had its North American Premiere this month.
The feature-length documentary, and an accompanying four-part series, traces the story of the Irish from first inhabitants to a global diaspora of more than 80 million people.
From that Small Island – The Story of the Irish won the Outstanding International Documentary Award at the Newport Beach International Film FestivalNarrated by Colin Farrell, the series was shot in 17 countries worldwide and the documentary drew on historical research and the latest scientific discoveries to find answers to questions related to the Irish diaspora and its reach across the globe.
Eight academics from Trinity College Dublin feature as experts across the series and in the feature documentary.
They include Jane Ohlmeyer, Patrick Geoghegan, Rachel Moss, Micheál Ó Siochrú, Francis Ludlow and Immo Warntjes from the School of Histories and Humanities and Dan Bradley and Lara Cassidy from the School of Genetics and Microbiology.
Produced by Coco Content, the series and film were created, written and produced by Briona Nic Dhiarmada and directed by Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy.
Following its US premier in Newport Beach the feature documentary was screened in Chicago, New York and Boston in collaboration with the Consulate General of Ireland.
The documentary, which has also been screened in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Dubai and, was an official selection at the Galway International Film Fleadh and at The Hague International Film Festival this year.
The four-part series for television was screened by RTÉ in June and is now available on the RTÉ Player.