Birr the chosen location for 2014 filmoffaly award winner

It was all cameras and action around Birr last week, as one of the winners of the 2014 FilmOffaly award went on location.

Helen Flanagan won this year’s award for her script 'The Debt’, which came through a rigorous shortlisting and interview process following 121 scripts being submitted for the award.

'The Debt’ is a heart warming story about childhood friendship. When ten year old Daithi falls for his beautiful and unattainable classmate Jessica, the task falls to his best friend Penny, a rough and tumble tomboy, to help him win her heart.

Award winning Dublin-based Fail Safe Films is the production company behind 'The Debt’. Helen Flanagan is both writer and director, with Simon Doyle producer, Deirdre O’Toole director of photography and David Byrne editor.

The team has this week extended its gratitude to residents of Woodlawn Park and Oxmantown Mall, the staff at Oxmantown School and Birr Castle for the use of locations.

'The Debt’ is the fifth film funded through the FilmOffaly award, which now boasts a lineage of successfully funded short films since 2008.

“We are delighted with the response and the outcome again of the FilmOffaly award, which we operate in partnership with Filmbase,” FilmOffaly chairperson Peter Ormond said this week.

“All shortlisted scripts were of a very high standard this year, and we look forward to seeing it all on screen.”

More information on FilmOffaly is available at www.filmoffaly.ie, or by following 'FilmOffaly’ on Facebook.