An upcoming short film, Newtown Boys, will soon be premiering in Ireland with Skibbereen links to the production company, Heritage.

Newtown Boys tells the true story of a family in 1960s Ireland who welcome a boy from a nearby institution into their home for a weekend, a simple act that became developed into a lifelong bond.

The screenplay was written by Galway girl Heather O’Sullivan and is based on the childhood story of her father Kevin and the boy Peter, whom his family fostered in the summertimes throughout the boys’ childhood in Tramore in county Waterford.

Kevin went on to be editor of the Irish Times from 2011 until 2017, and later was environment and science editor with the same paper.

Set on the south coast of Ireland, the film explores childhood friendship, community, and the legacy of Ireland’s institutional past through this very personal story.

A still from the film, Newtown Boys.

The production company, Heritage, was founded by its CEO Gráinne Dwyer from Skibbereen. Originally conceived in 2017 as Stori Creative and based out of Ludgate, it later rebranded to Heritage and have since been involved with multiple proejcts including music videos, commercials, and movies, including the short film Two for the Road, which was longlisted for the 2024 Oscars.

The award-winning, female-led, #NetZero film production company has clients in Europe, the US, UK, Australia, and the Middle East,  and have been involved with brands like Heineken, DHL, Kellogg’s, and Maybelline, as well as music videos for the likes of Burna Boy, Ed Sheeran, and Rudimental.

Newtown Boys enjoys its Irish premiere at the Dublin International Film Festival on February 25th.

The film stars Leitrim’s Leo Earley as Conn (who will soon appear as Seamus Finnigan in HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series), alongside Galway actor Tara Breathnach (Dune: Part Two) and Dub Lochlann O’Mearain (Outlander).