SECOND WIN FOR OMAGH AT FILM FEST
Second win for Omagh at film fest
By Darran McCann
HE film recounting the Omagh bombing and the subsequent experiences of the victims' relatives has now won two major awards in recent weeks on either side of the Atlantic.
The script for Omagh won the 52nd San Sebastian international film festival's screenplay award, with writers Guy Hubbard and Paul Greengrass on hand to collect the prize.
The award comes just two weeks after the film was voted winner of the Discovery award at the prestigious Toronto film festival, voted for by 750 international film critics.
The film had also been nominated for the festival's top prize, the Gold Shell award for best film, but lost out to Kurdish-language feature Turtles Can Fly, set along the Iranian-Turkish border.
In the Basque country for what is Spain's most prestigious film festival, were bereaved Omagh relatives and campaigners Michael Gallagher and Stanley McCombe.
Mr Gallagher lost his son Aiden (21) in the atrocity while Mr McCombe's wife Ann was also among the 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, who lost their lives.
"San Sebastian was magical. It means we have now won awards on both sides of the Atlantic," Mr Gallagher said.
"Hopefully it will mean a lot more people will get the chance to see the film now, and understand the struggle of the families of Omagh in their search for the truth."
The film focuses on Michael Gallagher's story and that of the campaign of the Omagh Support and Self Help Group as they sought justice.
Mr Gallagher was played in the film by Omagh-born actor Gerard McSorley.
Omagh was directed by Pete Travis and produced by Paul Greengrass, who also directed Bloody Sunday and the recent Hollywood hit The Bourne Supremacy.
The film was specially screened for relatives in Belfast earlier this year before being broadcast on RTE and Channel Four.
The powerful SI.5 million film was graphic in its recreation of the bombing and scathing in its treatment of the subsequent police investigation of the bombing.
The bomb scene set in the town's main street was recreated in Navan, Co Meath to avoid disrupting the lives of Omagh's survivors.
By Darran McCann
HE film recounting the Omagh bombing and the subsequent experiences of the victims' relatives has now won two major awards in recent weeks on either side of the Atlantic.
The script for Omagh won the 52nd San Sebastian international film festival's screenplay award, with writers Guy Hubbard and Paul Greengrass on hand to collect the prize.
The award comes just two weeks after the film was voted winner of the Discovery award at the prestigious Toronto film festival, voted for by 750 international film critics.
The film had also been nominated for the festival's top prize, the Gold Shell award for best film, but lost out to Kurdish-language feature Turtles Can Fly, set along the Iranian-Turkish border.
In the Basque country for what is Spain's most prestigious film festival, were bereaved Omagh relatives and campaigners Michael Gallagher and Stanley McCombe.
Mr Gallagher lost his son Aiden (21) in the atrocity while Mr McCombe's wife Ann was also among the 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, who lost their lives.
"San Sebastian was magical. It means we have now won awards on both sides of the Atlantic," Mr Gallagher said.
"Hopefully it will mean a lot more people will get the chance to see the film now, and understand the struggle of the families of Omagh in their search for the truth."
The film focuses on Michael Gallagher's story and that of the campaign of the Omagh Support and Self Help Group as they sought justice.
Mr Gallagher was played in the film by Omagh-born actor Gerard McSorley.
Omagh was directed by Pete Travis and produced by Paul Greengrass, who also directed Bloody Sunday and the recent Hollywood hit The Bourne Supremacy.
The film was specially screened for relatives in Belfast earlier this year before being broadcast on RTE and Channel Four.
The powerful SI.5 million film was graphic in its recreation of the bombing and scathing in its treatment of the subsequent police investigation of the bombing.
The bomb scene set in the town's main street was recreated in Navan, Co Meath to avoid disrupting the lives of Omagh's survivors.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0708
Published Date: 29-Sep-04
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