The red carpet was out in Killarney Cinema last night (Wednesday) as the some of the stars of the film ‘Joyride’ – which was shot right here in Kerry last summer – were joined by the film’s director, Emer Reynolds, and its writer Tralee native, Ailbhe Keogan, as it had its official Kerry premiere.
he film was showcased to a sold-out full house of cast, crew, film enthusiasts, sponsors, and supporters of film in Kerry and even included a Q&A session with some of the key talent involved in the film after the screening.
It’s not often that you get to your home county up on the big screen which meant that the atmosphere was absolutely electric on the evening as an excited crowd got to see an array of local actors, extras and of course, world-renowned Kerry scenery portayed so beautifully on the silver screen.
Written by Kerry based Ailbhe Keogan, who is a Kerry International Film Festival (KIFF) Board member and graduate of Kerry College, and directed by Emmy award winning Emer Reynolds, a former winner of the KIFF Maureen O’ Hara Award, the film stars the world-renowned Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Olivia Colman as lead character ‘Joy’, newcomer Charlie Reid as co-star ‘Mully’ and Lochlann O’Mearáin as Mully’s Dad ‘James’.
Wednesday’s Kerry premiere was attended by both Charlie and Lochlann who attended the preview screening, as well as Emer, Ailbhe and the Irish producers, Aoife O’Sullivan and Tristan Orpen Lynch from Subotica. Unfortunately, Olivia Colman is currently in the middle of filming, thus, she was unable to attend the event.
Speaking about the unique opportunity of filming in her native county, Ailbhe said that the support of the Kerry people was instrumental in helping the film get made.
“This premiere is a particularly special one as it feels like we’re bringing the film home. We got so much support here in the Kingdom. We were gifted with choice locations, skilled crew, generous sponsorship, high-end production infrastructure, even a plane; but we also received endless goodwill towards the production. The buy-in from local stakeholders cannot be underestimated. A Kerry welcome helped keep morale up on set, even on the most challenging days,” she said.
Echoing this sentiment was Siobhan O’Sullivan from Screen Kerry who described the film as a “love letter to the county” and emphasised that “the support of these organisations was essential in bringing this production to the county.”
A vast amount of local people were involved in the production of Joyride, both as cast and crew and by providing locations, so there was great excitement in the cinema to see the finished film on the big screen. As well as this, many local organisations who supported the film being produced in the county were also in attendance.
Speaking about the film’s Kerry premiere on the night, Chair of KIFF, Grace O’ Donnell, described ‘Joyride’ as a “phenomenal film” and thanked all those who supported the film including Screen Kerry, Kerry College, Kerry ETB, Kerry County Council and Kerry Airport.
