HEAR THEIR VOICE AT NEW BRAY SHOW

A YOUNG movie producer from Ashford has tasted further success at the Fresh Film Festival held in Limerick, this time in the senior section.

Thirteen-year-old Sean Treacy, pictured, went head to head with film-makers aged up to 18 years yet managed to secure second place for his movie ‘Brother’, in which two kids become unlikely friends after they are forced to spend time together.

Seán also wrote the script for the production and picked local actors for all the roles.

The Fresh Film Festival is considered the première showcase for films made by and for young people in Ireland. Over 1,500 submissions were received this year, making it the biggest year yet for the festival since it began in 1999.

Seán attends St Gerard’s in Bray and considers the director Christopher Nolan, whose work includes Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Inception and Dunkirk, as one of his biggest inspirations.

This is not Sean’s first taste of success at the Fresh Film Festival – last year he took home the top prize in the junior section for his entry ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’, which focused on a young teenager who sets out to improve in academics and sports by working harder than ever before. ‘HEAR OUR VOICE’, an exhibition by people with dementia, will open in Bray later this month.

The exhibition explores what people with dementia and their carers need in order to live a more fulfilling life in the county of Wicklow. While those with dementia are entitled to the same from life and their community as everyone else, negative perceptions and misunderstandings of dementia can act as a barrier to them having a voice. They can also deny them the opportunity to use their expertise and stories to develop support services, wider community policy and practices in the areas they live.

The Wicklow Dementia Support, ‘Our Voice’ project, funded by the Community Foundation of Ireland, uses the creative arts to support people with dementia and family carers and allow them to have their say about what is important to them and what can help them to continue to do the things they enjoy.

This exhibition, curated by Jade Butler, looks beyond the condition, highlighting the strengths of people with dementia through artworks.

‘Hear Our Voice’ will be on display at the Cornerstone at the Well on Main Street in Bray (opposite the Royal Hotel) on Friday, April 27, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.