By Annie Flynn
It was a momentous evening for 26-year-old Paddy Duffy from Enniskillen, with the world premiere of his feature debut ‘The Unholylands’ wowing the crowds at the Belfast Film Festival.
Over 200 people packed the Odeon Cinema at Victoria Square, with the cast gathering outside for the obligatory photographs and interviews, with the Irish News, UTV and others among the press pack for the 6pm screening, giving glitzy Hollywood premieres a run for its money.
Speaking via a live link to the red carpet, UTV anchor Paul Clark quizzed Paddy on the small controversy over the film, with some claiming it promote anti-social behaviour.
When asked how he felt about it Paddy, pictured below, responded, “People have got to understand that this is essentially about two lads who are going from immature to mature.
“It doesn’t glorify anti-social behaviour, if anything it calls out how irresponsible and childish that lifestyle can be. It’s one of them things, you need to watch the movie, you need to give it a chance.”
The crowd laughing throughout the screening, and as the final credits were rolling, everyone in the theatre rose to their feet, cheering and clapping in admiration for the cast and crew.
“After four years of hard work its very surreal to see everything come together,” Paddy told the ‘Herald. “The whole process has been worth it alone just for tonight and for the reception it received.”
The star studded cast included singer Nathan Carter and Oscar-nominated actor Jimmy Nesbit, and many other local faces such as Scotty Galbraith and Fionn Hamill from Enniskillen, and Tom Muldoon, popular Fermanagh DJ, who provided the background music.
Fionn said, “The movie was actually filmed in the exact house which I lived in when I was a resident in the Holylands which was pretty cool, watching on the big screen tonight brought back many memories but luckily none of the real parties that happened there was as extreme as the one shown tonight.”
Scotty added, “I absolutely loved being part of this movie, people should come see this film because its absolutely hilarious and I think people will love it.”
Tom agreed, “I do dance music and upbeat music, I’ve three songs involved in the movie and one of them leads into the final credits, I was buzzing to see my music in the film and I think it fit the vibe very well.”
Paddy concluded our interview with some advice for young people in Fermanagh.
He said, “If you are generally passionate about something and you think you can do it, don’t listen to anyone who says you can’t.
“My script itself took many rejections before it got to where it is now, don’t be scared, keep at it, believe in yourself and you can anything you set your mind too.”
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