Jim Sheridan directing series on Sophie Toscan du Plantier murder
Mr Sheridan, a guest at this week’s Fastnet Film Festival, in Schull, said the series will look at the circumstances surrounding Ms Toscan du Plantier’s murder, and the subsequent investigation’s focus on a local journalist, Ian Bailey.
English-born Mr Bailey has lived in West Cork for 30 years. Bailey has said he contemplated suicide due to “a deep sense of despair and hopelessness” and “collapse of normality”, after being twice arrested and released without charge.
Ms Toscan du Plantier, a French documentary film producer, was found battered to death outside her holiday home, near Schull, on the morning of December 23, 1996.
“It’s a documentary about the families of Sophie Du Plantier, Ian Bailey, the whole thing,” Mr Sheridan said. “We’re trying to examine a cold case, figure out what happened.”
He has spoken to Mr Bailey “quite a few times. I think it’ll be three or four documentaries. I’m making it with Donal McIntyre, the journalist. He’s making it for the BBC and TV3”, he said.
Now in its eighth year, the Fastnet Film Festival runs for five days and shows short films, while also hosting question-and-answer sessions and workshops.
The festival also hosts ‘Distributed Cinema’, Schull’s own dedicated server for short films.
The server allows anyone with a smartphone, laptop, or tablet, in Schull, to access previously submitted films, archived workshops, and Q&A sessions.
During the festival, the server is used alongside HD media players to screen shorts and features in a number of smaller venues throughout the locality.
Organisers say “the town with no cinema has more than 15 cinemas” during the festival, with various businesses, open spaces, and even a horse box available for screenings.
Among the highlights of this year’s festival is a screening of Once director John Carney’s new film, Sing Street, followed by a question-and-answer session with him.
Emmy award-winning costume designer, Joan Bergin, who has worked with Mr Sheridan on a number of his films, is to host a costume workshop at the film festival.
