Irish Film Sojourn Selected For NYC Independent Film Festival 2016

Sojourn, an Irish film written and directed by Paddy Slattery, has been selected for showing at the NYC Independent Film Festival 2016. The film is narrated by the well known Irish songwriter Brendan Graham – who wrote the lyrics to the extraordinarily successful ‘You Raise Me Up’, among other international hits.

The NYC Indie Film Festival provides a showcase for the best in independent cinema, including short films, feature films, music videos, and animated works. With panels, parties and a week-long gathering of indie filmmakers, the 6th Annual New York City Independent Film Festival is widely regarded as the place to be for indie movie types, from April 27 - May 1, 2016.

"The festival strives to promote an open and nurturing environment for artists, writers, actors, film-makers and fans,” a spokesperson old Hot Press. "We will be screening the best indie films and offering panels, classes, seminars and discussion groups as well as opportunities for the filmmakers and fans to mingle and network."

The showing of Sojourn – which has a running time of 41 minutes – takes place on April 30th, at 1.45pm, in the Producer’s Club, Theatre P, 358 West 44th Street, New York NY 10036

Sojourn, an episodic series of short narrative films based on the themes of Dread, Grief, Isolation, Loneliness, Yearning, and Hope, is inspired by the W.B Yeats character Aedh, a lonely lost soul who yearns for love, peace and enlightenment. The film stars Tristan Heanue and Nicola McEvilly, and the music is by Dave McCune.

In addition to directing two short films, The Moment (2010) and Runner (2012), Offaly-based Paddy Slattery was the producer of Tristan Heanue’s Today (which premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh last year and won Best Short Film), Martin McCann’s Fishbowl and James Fitzgerald’s award-winning, IFTA-nominated Skunky Dog. He has said that he hopes to target festivals tailored towards the art/poetry genre with Sojourn – and so the selection for the NYC Film Festival will be a big feather in his cap. Slattery himself wrote a set of new poems for the film, which are read by Brendan Graham. “His voice alone evokes images of an ancient celtic mystical land,” Slattery has said – and on the basis of the evidence of the trailer, he is right.