LOCAL filmmaker Gregory Burrowes is now on the long-list for this year’s Oscars.
The Parteen native is the producer of the Kerry Film Bursary funded short film ‘Ship of Souls’. The film, written and directed by Jean Pasley, was shot in Castlegregory during October 2020.
It follows Michael, played by Lorcan Cranitch, a father who is unable to accept his son’s sudden death in a car crash, as he tries to come to terms with his loss. The film also stars Cathy Belton (Hidden Assets) as Michael’s wife Fran.
The film recently won Best Irish Short Film at the Foyle Film Festival in Derry, which qualifies it for the long-list for best short film at the annual Academy Awards in California and the BAFTAs.
Writer/director Jean Pasley lived in Japan for a number of years and while there witnessed Obon, the annual Japanese Festival of the Dead. She was deeply moved by the festival, which inspired her to write ‘Ship of Souls’.
Gregory says he was delighted to work with Jean on the film.
“I was immediately struck by how heartbreaking but elegant the story was. The funding that Kerry County Council provided us to make the film allowed Jean to craft a powerful story about loss, grief and the search for redemption, themes that have universal appeal.”
Gregory is co-director of the Clare-based production company Carbonated Comet Productions.
