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One more thing...

15/11/2016

 
So Strike Films didn't manage to win an IFTA with Road To Rio or Children of the Revolution, but we lost out to two worthy winners in Hidden Impact by Wildfire Films and I Am Immigrant by Motive Television. Congrats to both productions, which I hate to say, were made by extremely good programme makers. Darn it. 
Since the last post, TMI hit the airwaves. Part funded by DRG, the format was launched at MIPCOM 2016, so wherever you are in the world you may soon be seeing a Strike Films production. The reaction in Ireland was very positive and a big shout out to @stephenbyrne Al Doyle and @MasterHolland for helping to make the show- and all our wonderful crew. But biggest cheer to our amazing performers @chizmund @alisonringrang @iamCiaraKing & @AlisonSpittle - here's hoping we get to make a full series. 
Tomorrow- Wednesday 16th November 2016- sees the transmission of Playing Straight- @stephenbyrne 's exploration of homophobia is soccer. It has been a long and difficult road, full of obstacles thrown up by the world of football- but Stephen's commitment to the question meant we got to the end, and made a great show, with a hat tip to our talented cameramen Matthew Kirrane and Daniel "Doc" O'Connor. But it would have been impossible without our wonderful editor Iseult Howlett- who gave up evenings and weekends with her family, to bring the her brilliance to the project- you are a genius. 
That is all for now, but hope you all have great Christmases and New Year's and see you in 2017! 

IFTA nominations for Strike Films

14/9/2016

 
A great month for Strike Films. The long awaited TMI is nearing completion, and I will be back with more news on that next month. But in the meantime some fantastic news- both Children of the Revolution and Road To Rio have been nominated for Irish Film and Television Awards- in the Documentary Single and Sport programme categories. This wouldn't have been possible without the sterling hard work of the production teams and crews and wonderful cooperation of organisations like An Post, Athletics Ireland, the IABA, Irish Sailing, Pentathlon Ireland, Taekwondo Ireland and so many more- thanks to all. But special mention must go to Joe and June Duffy and all the relatives of the children who died in 1916, as well as our wonderful athletes- Michael and Shauna Conlan, Fiona Doyle, Jack Woolley, Rob and Marian Heffernan, Martyn and Grace Irvine, Paul Pollock and Sophie, Matthew and Melissa McGovern, Ryan Seaton, Cian and Ruth O'Connor, Natalya Coyle and Sarah Lavin- and all their families, friends and coaches. You guys made these programmes worthy of nomination so sincerest thanks go to all of you. Finally special thanks to Darragh Bambrick, friend, colleague and fellow couch surfer on the Road to Rio and Gerry Hoban, Richard Kendrick, Stephen McDowell and Tom Reynolds- a first rate and fun crew.  
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Shameless self promotion alert

17/8/2016

 
I hope you are all having a lovely summer- having re- watched Road To Rio... One of the three regular readers of this blog obviously nominated it in the Littlewoods Ireland Blog Awards 2016- and voting opened today. Do feel free to vote for this blog in the Film & TV category at blogawardsireland.com/shortlist-2016/ 
Unfortunately you do have to provide some personal details, but it is all worth it for the greater glory of Strike Films... just hit on the image below. Look out for the next update on TMI and Playing Straight in early September. 
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It’s been too long! So long that Road To Rio is on again!

30/7/2016

 
It has been a while since the last update from the world of Strike Films- suffice it to say it has been a busy time.
Since I last checked in, Road To Rio had a very successful run on RTÉ2, and is now being repeated.
An episode is being shown every night in the week leading up to the opening of the Olympics Games- beginning on Sunday 31st July at 855pm on RTÉ2 ... and at 730pm every day thereafter… except on Friday 5th August when it is on at 8pm. The schedulers aren’t making it easy to keep track of!!
The series wouldn’t have been possible, nor half as good, without the unstinting, inspired and selfless
work of @darraghbambrick , my partner in crime for the past few years. He is now in Canada enjoying a well earned break- cheers buddy!
Best of luck to all our athletes who are competing in Rio- Michael Conlan, Fiona Doyle, Robert Heffernan, Matthew McGovern, Ryan Seaton, Paul Pollock, Natalya Coyle. At the same time we eagerly await the exploits of those who didn’t make this Games, but will make the next- Jack Woolley, Cian O’Connor and Sarah Lavin. Last but not least we are really looking forward to sinking some cold ones with the now retired World Champion Martyn Irvine. It has been a privilege and great fun to film with these exceptional athletes and the people around them. Thanks to all.
Since the last post Strike Films has started making Playing Straight, Stephen Byrne’s exploration of why there are no ‘out’ gay footballers in the major football leagues. So far the shoot has taken the team- @stephenbyrne , Matthew Kirrane and Mark Dolman- from London to LA, Brighton, Southampton and South Wales- and we still haven’t finished yet! It has been a pleasure to meet Gareth Thomas, Graeme Le Saux, Anwar Uddin and others as we explore this rather big blind spot in the world of football.
I can’t even talk about the project that has kept Strike Films the most busy for the past few months- but watch this space for news of an exciting new format, which has now been filmed and will hit air in the early autumn.
Until the next time enjoy the rest of the summer (and if you are in the Southern hemisphere- spring is nearly here!)
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Road To Rio is airing- Wednesday May 11th- 8.30pm- RTÉ2

10/5/2016

 
After 2 years and having travelled across 3 continents, 18 countries and 118,000 kilometres, Road To Rio is hitting the screens- on Wednesday May 11th, at 8.30pm on RTÉ2. This six-part series captures the ecstatic highs and crushing lows as Ireland's medal hopefuls train, compete and try to qualify for Rio 2016, Episode 1 features World Champion boxer, Michael Conlan @mickconlan11 , multiple Irish record holding swimmer Fiona Doyle @Fionamdoyle , and Taekwondo wonder kid Jack Woolley @jackwoolley_tkd 
It has been a pleasure and privilege to spend so much time in the company of Ireland's finest athletes- I hope you all enjoy watching the series as much as we did making it. 
Unfortunately you can only see the show on the Island of Ireland- but all of you can enjoy our promo below. 


Children of the Revolution- Easter Sunday, March 27, at 930pm on RTÉ1

26/3/2016

 
So after two and a half years in the making, the day is nearly upon us- Children of the Revolution, which follows Joe Duffy (@talktojoe1850) as he uncovers the stories of the 40 children killed during the Easter Rising, is being broadcast in the heart of RTÉ's 1916 Centenary Celebrations. For all of you living on the Island of Ireland the programme will be broadcast on Easter Sunday, March 27, at 930pm on RTÉ1. Alas for those of you living elsewhere... there is no escape. I have been reliably informed that the programme will be simulcast on the RTÉ Player housed on the RTÉ Homepage www.rte.ie, but wait there's more... If you miss the simulcast the programme should still be available for 28 days on this Player... and if that doesn't work for and you have an iOS device, you can watch the programme on the free partition of the RTÉ Player International, which can be downloaded in the App Store- go to http://www.rte.ie/playerinternational/ for instructions. So there really is no excuse. Massive thanks to the fantastic team that came together to make a great show, but particular thanks of course to Joe but also to our brilliant director, Gerry Hoban @ramblinghobo, who also directed A Fanatic Heart: Geldof on Yeats, which can be seen on RTÉ1 on Thursday 24th March at 10.15pm. 
The Road To Rio continues to roll, and I will be back with news on those journeys next month, but in the meantime WATCH Children of the Revolution, tell all your friends about it, then watch it again... 

It's been a while...

16/12/2015

 
PictureOne of these guys is a World Champion
​Apologies for the lack of blog posts- I can only hope that the wait hasn’t scarred you irrevocably.
In the five months since the last update Strike Films have been filming in; (deep breath…) Tallinn, Porto, Kazan, Bath, Aachen, Beijing, Berlin, the Swiss Alps, Doha and Dublin.  
Among the many highlights was completing filming of “Children of the Revolution”, Joe Duffy’s (@talktojoe1850) exploration of the children who died during the Easter Rising. The weather on the final day was very different to the sunny summer shoots of June and July. But a cold, wet and windy Dublin provided the perfect backdrop as Joe brought the story of the children who were killed during that momentous week, to a close. Thanks go to Ger and the staff at The Oval Bar, Abbey Street (@ChawkePubGroup1) and John, John and Anne at Deansgrange Cemetery.
Special thanks also to Sinéad and Eoin Tracy, whose great aunt Bridget McKane was accidentally shot during the rebel retreat from the GPO.  Sinéad gave Joe some wonderful insights into the life of their deceased relative on camera (Eoin was his sister’s PA!).
The Road To Rio has taken us to the more exotic locations- but for many of our athletes these events proved that the road to the Olympics is often rocky. July saw the team split, with Darragh Bambrick (@darraghbambrick) following Sarah Lavin (@sarahlavin_) in Tallinn for the European Under 23 Championships. Sarah didn’t have the greatest of meets, but as always she was great on camera, and we look forward to her bouncing back next year.  
Meanwhile Dan “Doc” O’Connor had the rare joy of travelling with me to film Matthew McGovern and Ryan Seaton (@Irish49er) competing in the 49er European Championships in Porto. It was a great location, and the boys did well, but were hoping for more, but funding problems didn’t help. With a place already booked for the Olympics, they face a challenging year getting the finances on an even keel, while trying to fulfil their undoubted medal potential.
Having returned from the Baltic, Darragh was soon back on a plane heading even further east, to Kazan to film Fiona Doyle (@Fionamdoyle) at the World Swimming Championships. It was a tough meet for Fiona- but having broken multiple Irish records and the Olympic qualification time in 2015, she is able to look back on an extremely successful season in the pool.
August is the height of the season for most Olympic sports and as a result we found ourselves travelling for much of the month. First stop was Aachen, with Cian O’Connor (@Cian_O_Connor) and the Irish showjumping team as they rode in the FEI European Championships, hoping to secure one of the three remaining qualifying spots for the Olympics. Everything was going to plan- and Cian was riding well with a clear round 3. But as he approached the 11 fence of the fourth and final round… a steward ran out in front of Cian’s horse, Good Luck, who the knocked over the next fence. Cian went clear for the rest of the round, but that fault was the difference as Ireland finished one place, and less than one fence shy of Olympic qualification. The global audience saw the clear injustice and social media exploded. In an empty venue, only Irish Field journalist Brendan McArdle (@BrendanMcArdle) and the Road To Rio crew were around when the results of the appeal were announced at 2am. Unfortunately it was rejected and Cian’s hopes of Olympic glory were seemingly over. But… later this month we will be travelling to Lausanne with the Irish delegation to see if an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport will right this wrong.
While we were disappointed for Cian, Darragh mood was not improved by having to drive four hours through the night to make sure we made our connection to the UK and the European Pentathlon Championships. He has lead an adventurous life, but I don’t think he will ever drive on the autobahn again. We made our flight safely, just, and headed to Bath to follow Natalya Coyle in her attempt to make the plane for Rio. Having watched Irish teammate Arthur Lanigan- O’Keefe destroy the field to become European Champion, Natalya was spurred on to an excellent 11th place in the strongest continental championship in the sport and is well placed to make it to Rio. But to cap off an excellent month- she found out she had graduated with a 2:1 in Business Management, leaving her now free to focus 100% on making the Olympics.
August also saw the team undertake the furthest journey of the series to date- over 8,000kms to China for the IAAF Championships, to see Rob Heffernan defend his 50km world title. Rob was the star of the previous series, London Calling, and he didn’t disappoint with a fighting performance, finishing 5th in the stifling Beijing heat. As he works his way back to full fitness we should all be backing the old warrior to make a strong tilt at a medal in Rio.   
Dr Paul Pollock’s (@ppmarathon) journey has been littered with bad luck and an injury of the eve of the key Berlin marathon meant that he entered the fray at less than 100%. His challenge, while running with a 12cm tear in his thigh, was to reach the qualifying standard and finish in the top three Irish athletes. He ran great race, with the Strike team looking on at one point from a makeshift cycle rickshaw ‘gantry’, and almost pulled off the miraculous. Paul made the time… but was fourth Irish athlete home by a matter of 10 metres. So thoughts are now turning to a marathon in the New Year, where Paul can push his best time even lower and give the Irish selectors no choice but to take him to the Olympics. 
In October, Darragh got to experience that privilege of watching a supreme athlete at the very top of their sport. Having flown to Doha in the UAE, he was rolling as Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) destroyed all rivals in his division to become World Champion. As reigning Commonwealth, European and World Champion, all that remains is the Olympic gold to complete the set. A great performer both in and out of the ring, it was a pleasure to be able to capture this journey with Ireland’s most decorated amateur boxer.
With Darragh in Doha, Jack Britton joined the team for our next shoot. As you can see form the photo below he was keen to send his mammy a snap of himself at work. For all the glamour of these trips, there is one sport which keeps taking us to places that shut down after 7pm, and that sport is track cycling. There must be a reason Velodromes are built in such quiet corners of the globe- but no one has been able to explain it to us yet. Least of all Martyn Irvine (@Martyn_Irvine), who was competing at the European Track Cycling Championships in Grenchen… look it up, but don’t go! As always Martyn was his insightful and charismatic self, despite having a tough time at a Championships where he had previously won bronze.
If you are still reading at this point- and lord only knows why, all that remains is to wish you and all those who have worked with Strike Films in 2015 a great Festive season. Rest assured we will be on the Road to Rio across Christmas and into the New Year, catching up with our athletes as they reflect on 2015, and look ahead to the Olympics. Strike Out.

Summer starts with a bang 

9/7/2015

 
Another busy month- which saw the Road To Rio team head to Belfast for our first day of filming with Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11)- an Olympic bronze medallist who is looking to go two better in Rio. Watching him going through his paces in the gym and in the ring at SINI was awe inspiring and we are really glad that we don’t ever have to face his energy and power for real.

June and early July also saw 8 days of shooting on Strike Films’ 1916 documentary ‘Children of the Revolution’, Joe Duffy’s exploration of the stories of the children who were killed during the Easter Rising.

The shoot went really smoothly- so thanks to a fantastic crew- Gerry Hoban, Richard Kendrick, Stephen McDowell and Thomas Reynolds- with honourable mentions to our drama unit- Lisa Kelly (AD), Denise Watson (Make- up), Saileóg O’Halloran (Wardrobe), Mark Holland (Jack of all trades and a master of a fair few) and last but not least our wonderful actors Dermot Ward, Shane Casey and the children at Take 2 Casting.

The shoot took us all across central Dublin and highlights included filming on a Dublin Bus- including going through a bus wash!- and filming from the bell tower of St Mary’s Church Haddington Road.

But all our locations and the wider team have been fantastic and it would be remiss not to mention them;  
Nicola Morris at Timeline Research and Hugh Comerford; Carole Donohue and Dublin Bus; Colin Hession and L Mulligans the Grocer, Stoneybatter; Mark Keane and Fr Mathew Hall; Garvan and Sinéad at Auntie Nellies Sweet Shoppe, Temple Bar; Fr Fachtna McCarthy and Alexis at St Mary’s Church Haddington Road; Karen Forester and Kiki’s Booteekie at 103 Haddington Road; Ailbhe Roche and all the staff at the Irish Whiskey Museum; Gerry Donoghue and the OPW at St Stephen’s Green; PJ Murphy at Sweny’s Pharmacy; Dennis Prior, Louise Nugent and Tommy at St Patrick Dun’s Hospital; Selwyn Hess at Fumbally Square; Paul O'Brien; Conor Dodd and Glasnevin Cemetery; Charles Duggan and Dublin City Council’s Henrietta Street Tenement; Genevieve at The Casting Couch.

We were also incredibly privileged that relatives of two of the children who died agreed to appear onscreen- so thank you Richard Veale & Terence O’Neill.

However this production wouldn’t exist but for the dogged determination of Joe Duffy (
@talktojoe1850) that the nation remember these long forgotten children- and the patience of his wife June who has supported him as he took on this research almost single handed- and as we took over her kitchen for a weekend. There is still a day’s filming left on the project, so watch this space.

One half of the Road To Rio team had a momentous month as Darragh Bambrick finally did the decent thing and wed his long time and long suffering girlfriend Erin Thomas- it was a lovely day- and also meant that he took a break from working for at least two days…

Some sad news now though, Road To Rio team (
@RTERoadToRio) is splitting up… but only because there are two events happening at the same time. Darragh Bambrick headed to Estonia today hoping to capture Sarah Lavin (@sarahlavin_) winning a medal at the European U23 Athletics Championships. While tomorrow a new member of the team- Dan O’Connor is travelling with yours truly to film Matthew McGovern and Ryan Seaton (@Irish49er) competing in the 49er European Championships in Porto. In other news congratulations to Fiona Doyle (@Fionamdoyle) who booked her place at the 2016 Rio Games as well as breaking the Irish national record for the 100m breaststroke… again. Well- deserved success from one of the toughest athletes we have filmed with.

Another person to watch out for this weekend is Martyn Irvine (
@Martyn_Irvine) competing at the National Track Cycling Championships at the Sundrive Velodrome, Dublin 12. That is all for now- but check back in next month when China, Germany and the UK will all be on the horizon.

Busy Road To Rio for Strike Films!

10/6/2015

 
Apologies for the lack of posts, but it has been a busy month.
The month began by catching up with a very tanned Sarah Lavin following her return from the World Relays in The Bahamas, where she helped to set a new national record in the 4 x 200m. She had stepped off a transatlantic flight and straight into an exam hall- but still found time to talk to us about her plans for the summer. We will be checking in with her again in July in Estonia when she travels for the European U-23 Championships.
There was no danger of Matthew McGovern and Ryan Seaton getting a tan in the hail that greeted us in Bangor when we caught up with the boys. Having just returned from a test event in Rio, they were both in fine spirits and looking ahead to the 49er European Championships in Portugal and more importantly Matt’s wedding in August.
May also saw Martyn Irvine take part in the gruelling An Post Rás, Ireland's premier stage road cycling race. Using the Rás to get road miles into his legs for the upcoming track season, we caught up with Martyn in Duboyne for the start and the finish in Skerries- leaving him to do the other 1,180km on his own. Completing the course in one piece was as precious as his 7th position overall, for the man all too familiar with injury.  
The month finished with our first filming block with showjumper Cian O’Connor, who is currently based in Goch in Germany. Having landed in Dusseldorf we hot footed it, via Holland, to Obglabeek, Belgium to watch Cian in a CSI2* Grand Prix event. He may now invite us to every event, as he won, going clear in the final round (that is iPhone footage below- not from our all- singing, all- dancing cameras) . Returning to Germany we spent a great week filming the 2012 Games Bronze medallist as he juggled training, coaching, logistics and spotting new horses- while still finding time to buy us lunch. We are really looking forward to catching up with him again in Aachen at the European Championships in August. 

Don’t forget to follow our athlete’s progress on Twitter @RTERoadToRio 

1st Day of Children of the Revolution

5/5/2015

 
A damp, but great first day filming Children of the Revolution. Wonderful to be working with Joe Duffy again- a great professional with a burning passion to ensuring the stories of the children killed during the Easter Rising are remembered for the first time. Thanks to Anna McHugh and George of An Post at the GPO for making filming go so smoothly. We then moved on to St Patrick's Church Ringsend for a Memorial Service, featuring a wonderful speech by President Higgins imploring us to remember the lives cut short too soon. Great to meet the living relatives of those who died. 
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