Irish Film: Auditions to take place for Ciaran Creagh's The Picnic

Underground Cinema have teamed up with award winning Irish director Ciaran Creagh to produce his forthcoming short film The Picnic. The film is currently seeking a young girl to play the role of eight year old Betty in the film.

The film tells the simple story of how children try to understand the trauma of grief and come to terms with the fact that their father is not coming home and compartmentalise their feelings but shows and demonstrates the resilience of innocent young children in accepting and surviving such events in the real world.

Betty, aged 8 and Brendan, aged 6, are a brother and sister, who live in Dublin in the 1970s with their mother Mary.  The film takes place the afternoon after the burial of their father, who died suddenly, during a reception that is taking place in their home.  Betty feeling isolated and confused about her father’s death decides to take her little brother on a picnic to visit her father’s grave, unbeknown to her mother, who is understandably finding it difficult to hold it together.

Hand in hand, these two young children embark on their journey crossing roads, encountering bully boys, shopping for their picnic and making their way to the graveyard and then failing to locate their father’s grave.  Frustration leads to the realisation that their father is gone for good and it is only with the arrival of the frantic mother trying to find her children does the family now help each other in facing their bereavement.

Creagh, who hails from Dublin, is an Irish writer/director who has written for the theatre and film. Three of his plays have been publicly performed and his first feature film, Parked, which starred Colm Meaney and Colin Morgan, was the winner of best first feature award at the 2011 Galway Film Fleadh.  Ciaran’s last short film The Note, which starred Aidan Gillen, picked up three awards at the Underground Cinema Awards last year, for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Score.

The production team are currently accepting CV’s for the role of Betty.  To request an audition simply forward a recent photograph along with a CV or covering letter/resumé to auditions@underground-cinema.com. Auditions are by appointment only, and will take place in the Generator Hostel in Smithfield on Saturday May 24th between 9.30am to 2pm.