Irish Documentary Wins Big!

We are delighted to announce that our documentary From that Small Island has won a major prestigious award at the Newport Beach International Film Festival where it had its North American Premiere recently. The feature length documentary has received the Outstanding International Documentary Award at the festival in Southern California, one of the regions’ largest and most successful film festivals.

Other highly successful screenings took place in Chicago, New York and Boston in early November.  From that Small Island was also screened in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Dubai and Doha in September. The film was screened in Ireland at the Kennedy Summer School in New Ross where a sold out audience gave it a standing ovation. The feature was an official selection at the Galway International Film Fleadh and is currently an official selection at The Hague International Film Festival and is officially nominated for ARFF//Berlin International Film Festival to take place in late November.

The four part series for television From that Small Island: The Story of the Irish was screened by RTÉ in June. It is distributed internationally by RTÉ Distribution and has had a very successful take up to date. The series is currently being broadcast on SBS, one of Australia’s main public service networks broadcasters. It has also been taken up by 95% of top APT/PBS stations coast to coast in the US including the primary stations in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. It will begin transmission in January. In addition, From that Small Island: The Story of the Irish was selected for broadcast on WORLD, the 24/7 full-service multicast channel, featuring public television’s signature nonfiction documentary, science and news programming.

From that Small Island: The Story of the Irish was produced by Coco Content, one of Ireland’s most successful independent production companies. Narration was by Colin Farrell. It was created, written and produced by Briona Nic Dhiarmada and was directed by Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy. Trinity College professor, Jane Ohlmeyer, acted as historical consultant and associate producer.

Dermot Bannon's Super Spaces

In this new two part series, Dermot Bannon looks at a variety of super spaces in which we live, work and socialise. From beautiful renovations to small container homes, from tiny converted out houses to coffee huts, Dermot is excited to see the bold, the beautiful and the cleverly designed spaces that can be found around the island of Ireland.

Right in the very north of Ireland, Basalt House in Portrush, Co. Antrim is one of the most breathtaking homes Dermot has ever visited. And in Co. Kerry, Dermot spends time with the owner of Limehouse Cottage, a beautiful renovated farmhands cottage, set in the hills near Glenbeigh.

He talks to sea swimmers at the stunning Clontarf Baths, who use this facility not only to help their stamina but also their mental health.

Dermot heads to the brand-new International Rugby experience in Limerick, designed by architect Niall McLoughlin. Here he explains how this building, set in the Gothic quarter, is bringing new life and energy to the city. He also gets a little tour from Paul O’Connell, who wants to test Dermot, to see if has the makings of a great rugby player. 

In this series, Dermot wants to talk to people whose lives have been positively affected by well designed civic spaces. He travels to Westport to learn about their town planning. He sees first-hand the impact of some of the changes slowly implemented over the last 20 years - the gradual removal of car park spaces on the main streets to make way for parklets, streamlining of street signage and the opening up of new pedestrian laneways.

Dermot also visits some stunning architecturally designed houses, including An Tuí, a renovated cottage with a contemporary extension and thatch roof in Kildare, Stilt House in Connemara, the small but stunning Charleville House on the North Strand in Dublin, and the magnificent Vaulted House in Sandymount, Dublin.

Dermot Bannon’s Super Spaces airs this Wednesday, September 4th @9:35pm on RTÉ One