Rúbaí, an Irish language film which won the Best First Short Drama Award at the Galway Film Fleadh recently, was produced by Gemma O’Shaughnessy, a native of Ballypierce in Charleville. Rúbaí is the first film Gemma produced, having spent her career to date in television drama, and as well as the short drama award, it also received a Special Mention in the Tiernan McBride Award for Best Short Drama.
Gemma graduated from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in 2003 with a Diploma in Film and Television, and spent seven years working on ‘Ros na Rún’, moving up through the ranks from stage manager to production manager.
She then spent two years as production co-ordinator on ‘Killinascully’, before moving to Belfast in 2010 to join Waddell Media where she is producer of 4Thought.tv, a series of mini-documentaries on Channel 4 focusing on religious, moral and ethical issues.
Rúbaí, which tells the story of a young girl who refuses to make her First Holy Communion, claiming she is an atheist, will now be shown at film festivals around the world with the help of the Irish Film Board and Network Ireland Television who are keen to promote the film to an international audience.