Based on a play by Galway’s Martin Beanz Warde, The Dead House will premiere at Cork International Film Festival this Friday, November 13.
Directed by Aaron Chalke, and produced by Willie White, The Dead House is adapted from Warde's play of the same name.
At his grandfather’s wake, Patrick is forced into a long-avoided confrontation with his father, unearthing buried shame, family secrets and the Traveller heritage that continues to shape their lives.
Warde is currently setting up his own production company, and he wants to highlight the importance of creatives from the Traveller community owning and telling their own stories.
The University of Galway graduate recently completed a Shadow Producer opportunity with the National Talent Academy’s Film & TV initiative, and is looking at training as a director.
Warde said one ambition is to set up the first Irish Traveller Film Festival.
The Tuam native says he is conscious of making space for marginalised stories to be told, challenging conscious and unconscious biases in the creative and the film sectors.
He says he is not interested in pulling up the ladder: he wants to tell stories from his background and perspective as a Queer Traveller, so that the next generation will be able to do that too.
