LA glory for Paul O’Brien’s ‘Staid’
PAUL O’Brien’s film ‘Staid’, shot in Wexford town with a budget of €300, has picked up the award for Best Foreign Feature at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival.
‘It means everything to us,’ said Paul, reacting to news of the award.
‘We got official selections in two film festivals, but this is the first award,’ said Paul, who has been invited to Los Angeles next month to collect the award.
‘We were picked up by the Dublin International Film Festival, but to get an award in LA is amazing, fantastic,’ he said.
‘I’m thrilled for the people who gave me their time for nothing, who trusted me. It was a blind submission. We don’t have anyone on the inside and we managed to compete and win,’ said Paul.
He said the film ‘could now travel in the USA and be successful there, giving great exposure to Wexford and its people.
The stars of ‘Staid’ are Adrienne Meyler, Stephen Murphy, Paul Creane and Phil Lyons.
The plot of the film sparks off the lives of four people who are stuck in life, staid, and whose lives are about to change whether they like it or not.
The sound track includes original music from the likes of Paul Creane, Basciville, Donal Byrne and Corner Boy, plus Cry Before Dawn’s impressive track ‘Gone Forever’.
The film, shot at the Sky and The Ground, in Wexford town, started off as a play Paul wrote 18 years ago.
‘It was too soft and didn’t suit my angry nature, so I put it away for 18 years and pulled it out and we did it as a play ‘One Last Long Breath’ at the Sky and the Ground (in 2014). When it was coming to the end I thought it could transition into a movie, which it became with the same characters, but with completely different stories,’ said Paul.