LISTEN: County Down writer and director honoured at British Film Festival awards

by Q Radio News

A county Down writer and director has been honoured at the prestigious BFI London Film Festival. 

Cathy Brady was the winner of  the fifth annual 'WC Schaffhausen Filmmaker Bursary Award" for her debut feature film 'Wildfire'.

As the winner, Cathy will receive a unique £50,000 bursary, the most significant of its kind in the UK film industry.

Cathy Brady from Co. Down was awarded the £50,000 WC Schaffhausen Filmmaker Bursary Award

A spokesperson for the BFI London Film Festival said, "Cathy Brady’s film “Wildfire” was initially chosen from thousands of entries to be officially selected for the Festival, before being shortlisted by a panel of industry experts chaired by Tricia Tuttle, Artistic Director of the LFF. Writer/directors Aleem Khan (After Love) and Francis Lee (Ammonite) were also shortlisted.

'Wildfire' is the story of two sisters in present day Northern Ireland who grew up on the fractious border, starring Jane Noone and Nika McGuigan. 

"When one of them, who has been missing, finally returns home, the intense bond with her sister is re-ignited.

"Together they unearth their mother's past but uncovered secrets and resentments which have been buried deep, threaten to overwhelm them." 

Wildfire movie shot 

Speaking to Q Radio, Cathy says "As a family they're really trying to overcome a trauma in their past. 

"I suppose seeing as it's set in Northern Ireland, it really is also about a community and a country that's equally struggling to overcome its past. 

"So in many ways the film takes a look at the legacy of the troubles and how that affects a community but most importantly a family, in a family dynamic."

The county Down woman said she was "completely and utterly blown away" after receiving the award, in what's been an "incredibly turbulent" year for many. 

Cathy Brady speaking to Q Radio 

Cathy said she has big plans for spending the bursary and putting the money towards her next film. 

She says it's planned in the Amazon jungle where she wants to travel and base herself for a while. 

"For now, I'll really dig down into the research. The next story is set in the amazon jungle, so I can't imagine myself going there anytime soon because of covid. 

"So I think I'll be spending many days, many weeks just digging into the research and meeting people over zoom for now. 

"Hopefully though, the plans will be to go there and travel."

Cathy is already a two-time IFTA-winning director for her short films 'Small Change' and 'Morning'.

'Morning' was also nominated for European Academy Award for Best short.

In 2011 Cathy directed the BIFA-nominated TV drama Rough Skin for Channel 4's Coming Up strand.

In 2014, she directed an episode of Jack Thorne’s BAFTA-nominated series Glue and went on to co-develop and direct the first series of Stefanie Preissner's Can't Cope, Won't Cope for RTE/BBC3/Netflix.

In 2017 Cathy was one of fifteen female directors selected for BAFTA Elevate and in 2019 she was selected as one of The Irish Times ‘50 People to Watch’.