Pat describes Ifta win as a ‘great privilege’

BALTIMORE-based filmmaker Pat Collins said winning an award for his film That They May Face the Rising Sun at last weekend’s 2024 Irish Film & Television Awards (Iftas) was a ‘great privilege’.

Speaking to The Southern Star, the Drimoleague man said the best film award is a recognition of the entire cast and crew.

‘It’s also great to get this recognition so close to the country-wide release of the film as it is being released in over 70 screens across Ireland and over 80 cinemas in the UK from Thursday April 25th,’ he said. The film, which is based on the final book by author John McGahern, was nominated for an impressive 11 awards, including best original music by composers Irene and Linda Buckley from the Old Head of Kinsale.

Pat’s film stars Barry Ward and Anna Berderke in the lead roles and captures a year in the life of a rural lakeside community in Ireland in the 1970s. Filmed in Galway, the film was later edited with Keith Walsh in Baltimore, for over six months.