Junior filmmakers debut new movie

TWENTY-two Ruan children had their first short film premiered at the parish hall last weekend.

They were led by local resident Mickey O’Loughlin who was putting his skills in film to community use.
After finding himself unemployed, he decided to do something useful. “As an adult I returned to education, first with the VEC on Clonroad in Ennis and from there I went on to do a Bachelor of Arts in film and television and after it finished last June I couldn’t get work so rather than sit around I said I’d try and come up with an idea to give back what I had gained in knowledge.
“So I put together a course I called The Magic of the Silver Screen to allow children to produce, direct and star in a film,” he told The Clare Champion.
The film is six minutes long and the children involved are all in the eight to 12 age bracket.
“The film is called Chocolate Wars. A company called Munch Chocolate is losing a lot of business to a competitor. A guy called Johnny the Fox comes along and puts a proposition to the owner. There are a few twists and turns then, it follows a three-act structure,” Mikey explains.
He says the film was partly inspired by a character in a Thin Lizzy song, called Johnny the Fox. Mickey also said he was very pleased with the level of commitment to the project shown by the children involved.