Offaly-made feature 'Eden' film screening and Q&A announced

The feature film 'Eden', made in Offaly in 2007 and based on a successful play by Edenderry-born writer Eugene O’Brien, will be shown at a special screening at Esker Arts on September 4 next.

The screening will be attended by Eugene O’Brien, together with the film’s Director Declan Recks. The pair will take part in a question-and-answer session following the film, chaired by FilmOffaly’s Darren Lee. This will be an opportunity to find out about their filmmaking journeys and experiences making the film in their home county.

Eden tells the story of a week in the lives of Billy and Breda Farrell on the advent of their 10th wedding anniversary. Breda is determined to re-ignite the passion in their marriage, while Billy is obsessed with a younger woman. The film stars Aidan Kelly and Eileen Walsh in a performance which earned her Best Actress at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Declan Recks is an IFTA award-winning television and film director from Clara, while Eugene O’Brien is an accomplished writer for TV and Film. He is best known as the creator of cult RTE drama Pure Mule together with its recent spin-off novel Going Back.

The stage version of Eden was hugely successful, transferring from Dublin’s Abbey Theatre to London’s West End and Broadway. The film adaptation was produced by Samson Films, who are due to return to Offaly later this year to make another feature film called One Sweet Hour. Like Eden, this is also written and directed by O’Brien and Recks.

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FilmOffaly’s Darren Lee said “We’re very excited to welcome Samson Films back to Offaly this year, and it’s great that Eugene and Declan have offered their time to take part in this event. We’ve had requests from people who were involved in the making of Eden to see if it can be made available to watch again, so we’re looking forward to what promises to be a special screening.”

Tickets are available from the box office at Esker Arts. Given the sell-out success of Eugene O’Brien’s latest play Heaven earlier this year, booking will be essential.

Film Offaly is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the EU Just Transition Fund Programme 2021-2027.

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