Boher NS wins award for film on theft of St Manchan’s Shrine
By Rebekah O'Reilly
Boher National School, Ballycumber, has been named as the overall winner of the Roscommon Mini Motion Picture Film Festival for its short film "Down with that Sort of Thing".
The 4th and 5th class students from Boher NS attended Roscommon Arts Centre on Wednesday, December 4, for the film festival.
The school's five-minute-long short film is a humorous re-enactment of the theft of the precious shrine of St Manchan, which is a real-life event that took place in St Manchan's Church in Boher in June 2012.
The theft made headlines nationwide at the time, and now the students of Boher NS are making headlines with their creative retelling of the incident.
Pupils from Boher NS teamed up with teachers, local gardaí Garda Diarmuid McDermott and Garda Karole Shannon, and local historian Eamon Larkin in April 2024 to make the award-winning flick.
For being announced as the overall winner of the film competition, the school was awarded a prize of 30 Samsung tablets and a 55" Samsung interactive screen. A Samsung representative attended Boher NS on Thursday morning to present the equipment to the school.
During the Roscommon Mini Motion Picture Film Festival, the pupils had the opportunity to watch the screening of their own film along with work from other schools.
To guide them through the process of filmmaking, students had participated in an engaging film workshop series led by Shuttermaniac Productions, where they learned the essentials of filmmaking, including scripting, storyboarding, and shooting using repurposed Samsung smartphones.
A panel of judges, including industry leaders like Tom Dowling from Troy and Hammerlake Film Studio, Grace Boon from the Irish Arts Council, and Samsung’s Business Manager Cathy O’Flaherty, evaluated the films for their creativity, originality, and technical skill.
Reacting to the award success, Paul McKeon, Principal of Boher National School, said: “The kids are absolutely over the moon, the whole experience from the workshops to the festival was fantastic for them.
"The new equipment will make a huge difference for the students in our school and I hope this festival encourages more children to get involved in an extracurricular activities like this."