RTÉ to air first TV broadcast of Co Longford's 'Lakelands' by Harp Media

Granard’s own Harp Media will have their debut film ‘Lakelands’ on RTÉ 1 for the first time on October 25 at 9:40pm. The movie, which received high reviews, as well as many awards such as Galway Film Fleadh for Best Irish Film and nominations in the IFTAs, stars Danielle Galligan (‘House of Guinness’; ‘The Walsh Sisters’) and Éanna Hardwicke (‘Saipan’). 

What started off as two Granard men who were unfulfilled with their corporate careers has become one of the biggest media breakthroughs in Ireland. Robert Higgins and Patrick “Paddy” McGivney started off Harp Media in 2018, which led to two shorts: ‘Angels Guard Thee’ and ‘Drifting’, the latter starring Paul Mescal shortly after the success of ‘Normal People’. 

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With the first TV broadcast coming imminently, Robert and Paddy came to chat with the ‘Longford Leader’ about the film’s beginnings from idea to final product. Describing it as a personal piece which was “close to the bone,” they had plenty to reflect on before the RTÉ premiere. 

“We felt we were ready from a writing, directing, producing perspective to make the leap,” said Paddy. “In terms of actual budget, that’s where we’d be constricted. We looked around at what we had available and we had a whole town of friends and supporters eager to be involved in the film. That motivated us to look inward at what kind of stories were available to us. We always wanted to make a film based on the GAA scene and that’s how the beginnings of ‘Lakelands' came about–to make something in our hometown with our friends and family.”

As for the process of making it, Robert and Paddy both spoke about the extended time frame to make a feature film, compared to short films, which are usually three days. 

“We had such incredible support in the community. Making a feature film is a marathon. We were used to shooting three days max for our shorts and then up to seventeen. A whole different beast at that point. We had it in our hometown with so much warmth and support. It was a really fun experience once we settled into the rhythm of it. It was one of the most satisfying creative experiences that we had. There were a lot of challenges but we learnt a lot."

Paddy then added: “The challenges were definitely the fact that we only had 17 days to complete the shoot. It was a bit of a marathon in that regard and trying to condense our days down, so we were still going to get the film we wanted to make. What I think when you’re restricted, there is a benefit that we had to interrogate the script, no room for error. We made sure to do as much prep as we possibly could. Where there was pressure each day, we had the work done in advance so we could enjoy the process. To be able to shoot in our own town, houses, farms and pitches, there’s a great freedom. You know the terrain and people you’re shooting with. There was a real positive element to it, shooting at home and such a high pace.”

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Home was part of the element to filming ‘Lakelands’ as many scenes were filmed on Paddy’s home farm.

“I remember Paddy’s mother baked bread in the house. Everyone looked forward to that. Shot a lot on Paddy’s farm. The whole thing was full of fun stories, bringing the cast to the local pub John V’s in a break of filming. It turned into a bit of a singsong as word got round. Suddenly, the place was packed!” recollected Robert.

“It was only five days in and we forgot that we had twelve whole days. It was as if we were celebrating it,” said Paddy.

They hope that viewers will find something relatable in it through the characters, as well as offering a window into rural life. 

Paddy added: “Me and Rob always had a strong belief in the story and the character of Cian in particular. We were motivated by the need to tell a story from our patch of the world in North Longford. We thought it’d been underserviced for national cinema. Until you get it in front of an audience, or people outside of Longford, you see if people will relate to it. They did. The feedback from Galway and America was good. We were relieved and grateful.”

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Nevertheless, the pair want audiences next week to enjoy it. 

With a love for county Longford, Robert added that they hope to continue their strong body of work. They currently have more projects in development, but hope that their audience will keep growing.