Highland Tales: Irish writer Elizabeth O'Halloran takes us through the crafting of Scottish story Edie
British independent drama Edie follows an 83 year old woman (portrayed by Sheila Hancock) believes that it is never too late - packing an old camping bag, leaving her life behind and embarking on an adventure she never got to have - climbing the imposing Mount Suilven in Scotland. She employs Johnny (Kevin Guthrie) to help her prepare for the climb but they ultimately spark an unusual friendship.
The film is the debut feature of Galway writer Elizabeth O’Halloran. She attended Gort Community School, before studying film and television at GMIT and graduating from London Film School in 2008 with an MA in screenwriting.
CinÉireann caught up with her to talk about the long process of getting it from script to screen.
CinÉ: I believe that you were approached a number of years ago to write this tale?
Elizabeth O'Halloran: It was 2010 and Simon Hunter and the producer at the time were looking for someone to work on this screenplay. They had an idea already that they wanted to do a film in the Highlands with an older character. And I really liked the idea as there really hadn't been very many roles for older people on screen. It takes so long these days to get from the point where you are being development on a feature to where you actually get to show it to an audience.
A lot can go wrong in eight years and a lot can change.
A lot can change and I think for myself during that period of time I was growing up as a writer as well, so that was very interesting. My process evolved too while I was working on it. I did six drafts in total and a number of polishes. It was a very good experience to work on.
So was it the kind of thing that you'd put it down and then go away, and then come back and make a change?
Exactly. I would a draft, which would take anything from a month to six weeks and you might do a polish as well at the end, and then it might be six months before I looked at it again or sometimes it might be a year. And in between the director and the producer would be looking for funding or working on different projects. But that process and the fact that you have a break in between the drafts is actually very useful for you as a writer because you get a little bit of distance from the story. So when you pick it up again it's a little bit more fresh. I don't think that you ever get fresh
Words: Niall Murphy
38 CinÉireann / May 2018