Pupils add West Clare twist to the Bard’s classic love story

PUPILS from Kilrush Community school were at the Fresh Film Festival in Limerick last week with their entry Star Crossed in Kilrush.
The short film can be seen on You Tube and was made by second year Junior Cert Schools Programme students.
Teacher Geraldine Rush said a lot of work went into making it. “We had our premiere in January and it was made in the first term.
“It was made over four days. There was a lot of work involved. A girl called Niamh Heery, who was employed by the Galway Film Institute, came to the school and she spent four days with the students.
“In four days, they wrote the script, which was an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, they cast it and they filmed it. They did the camera work and the whole lot. They storyboarded it, all of that, and produced it in the four days.”
The film is set in Kilrush and there were 15 students involved, all aged around 13 to 14. The production also received support from the Clare Arts Office.
While the group didn’t make the finals at the festival in Limerick, Geraldine felt they performed very well. “They didn’t get through to the finals in the Fresh Film Festival and we were somewhat disappointed because we had got a different feedback from Galway. But only about one out of four get through there. Some of those would have been older too. But watching it and trying to be somewhat detached, I thought that it must be there or thereabouts. The girl organising it said to me that the girl playing Juliet should definitely keep acting.”
She said taking part in the project had been very good for the pupils.
“It was fantastic for them and their confidence. It helps them be responsible and to work together as a group,” Ms Rush concluded.