Back from the Booley is launched

My first Creative Archives output has been finally released into the wild!

Back from the Booley is a short documentary that mixes archival footage with new interviews and videos shot by the local community. It’s set in Hilltown, County Down, and follows the revival of the historic Booley Fair, capturing the community spirit and their strong connection to the nearby mountains.

In summer 2024, we worked closely with the community every step of the way, from filming with smartphones to editing, making sure their ideas helped shape the final film about the Booley Fair.

The wonderful curator and editor Stephen Newe, from NI Screen’s Digital Film Archive, helped bring it all together by blending in archival clips and creating an original soundtrack. The result is a truly collaborative film that preserves this important local story for the future!

The film had its premiere at The Local Filmmakers Showcase, where we also showed two other great documentaries made locally in South Down: a short film by Moneydarragh Hub about local weavers, and From the Mournes to the Rockies, a short I made with PRONI and the Nerve Centre back in 2019 about Catherine O’Hare’s amazing journey to the Canadian goldfields.

Check out this write-up by the lovely Film Hub NI folks: https://filmhubni.org/blog/a-day-to-remember-the-launch-of-the-school-house-cinema-club-hilltown/

The film is currently doing the Festival rounds and will soon be available online via https://digitalfilmarchive.net/.