Projects matching: Elliot Hegarty

Synopsis

In the heart of Irish London, beer is thicker than water.

In Kilburn's square mile there are 63 Irish pubs. This is the story of just one.

Mickey, the pub's young barmen, is sure that his job is preventing him from 'getting on' in life. So he's returning to Ireland to take up a job with his brother. This, his last week, should be his most enjoyable.

Fat chance. The landlord is in hospital, and Mickey is left in charge. The regulars appear on cue, taking the same seats in front of the same drinks at the same time as every other day. If only everything else about them was as predictable.

With their eccentricities, ravings and antics, Mickey's own girl trouble, and the bizarre characters that pass through the pub, it's now shaping up to be the worst week of his life.

But as the last day approaches and the madness reaches its climax, Mickey comes to understand the real people behind the regulars and, more importantly, that for all of them the pub represents a home from home - a haven where all their problems can be forgotten. He'd be crazy not to stay.

Lock in. Drink up. Pass out.

Synopsis

In the heart of Irish London, beer is thicker than water.

In Kilburn's square mile there are 63 Irish pubs. This comedy is the story of just one.

Mickey, the pub's young barman, is sure that his job is preventing him from 'getting on' in life. So he's returning to Ireland to take up a job with his brother. This, his last week should be the most enjoyable.

Fat chance. The landlord is in hospital, and Mickey is left in charge. The regulars appear on cue, taking the same seats in front of the same drinks at the same time as every other day. If only everything else about them were as predictable.

With their eccentricities, ravings and antics, Mickey's own girl trouble, and the bizarre characters who pass through the pub, it's now shaping up to be the worst week of his life.

But as his last day approaches and the madness reaches its climax, Mickey comes to understand the real people behind the regulars and more importantly, that for all of them the pub represents a home from home - a haven where all their problems can be forgotten. He'd be crazy not to stay.

Lock in. Drink up. Pass out.

Synopsis

Set in the square mile of London that is home to 63 Irish pubs, County Kilburn charts the last week in London of Mickey (Ciaran McMenamin), a barman at the Waggon and Horses who decides to return to Ireland to work for his brother. But during the turmoil and chaos that conspire to turn those seven days into a near disaster, Mickey learns some important lessons about himself, his regulars and the value of community.

The film marks the feature debut of Elliot Hegarty, a twentysomething commercials director who has already won fans for his short film Archie And Stafford, shown at the 1997 Edinburgh Film Festival. Inspired by his own experiences, Hegarty fashioned a screenplay that would be easy to organise and manageable to shoot. "We wanted to do something simple, a Cheers for the UK with the wit of Clerks," says producer Nick Heyworth, a long-time collaborator of Hegarty's. "Setting the film in a pub was ideal because it meant the story can take a different direction the minute someone new walks in. We shot over three weeks but it wasn't as painful a shoot as many low-budget films because we only had one location - a disused pub in Kilburn - and a great team of collaborators."

Funded by private sources, including Watermark Films, the new company set up by Magnus Macintyre, County Kilburn was recently picked up by Alibi Films International and is now being screened to distributors. Heyworth and Hegarty are now preparing their next film, Snookered,a co-production with The Gruber Brothers, which already has Redbus on board as UK distributor.