Gerard Barrett

Director Gerard Barrett won the IFTA Rising Star Award in 2013 for his writing and directorial feature film debut Pilgrim Hill. The film explored the life of an isolated farmer in the rural South of Ireland and his struggles with loneliness whilst caring for his sick father. Pilgrim Hill received international acclaim for this sensitive portrayal with Variety calling it “invisibly scripted...a massive tragedy told in a minor key” as well as winning at the Galway Film Fleadh for Best Irish Film & Best New Talent. He was also named ‘Great Expectation’ at the Telluride Film Festival in the US and Rising Star of the BFI London Film Festival

Gerard’s adult animation series Newsbag screened on Irish television during 2013, winning critical acclaim from The Sunday Times. His second feature film Glassland premiered at the 2014 Galway Film Fleadh, sharing the Best Irish Feature Award with Patrick’s Day. The film - starring Jack Reynor, Academy-Award nominee Toni Collette, Will Poulter and Michael Smiley - tells the story of a young Irish taxi driver who gets tangled up in the world of human trafficking while trying to save his mother from addiction.