Local Film in Social Media Challenge

As part of an innovative social media challenge, people across south Donegal are being asked to support a local film by viewing it online.

The 6 minute animated film, “Brighter Days” tells the story of Glenties man Colm Melly and is based on Colm’s experiences of emigrating to England in the 1940s and returning to Donegal to raise his family. The film was directed by Colm’s grandson Daniel McGarrigle and the challenge is to promote “Brighter Days” to the biggest possible audience in just 3 weeks.

The film Brighter Days is narrated by Colm Melly and has been created using traditional hand-drawn animation techniques along with computer generated animation and is accompanied by a soundtrack featuring some of Donegal’s most prominent traditional musicians. Brighter Days can be viewed at www.sharingstoriesbrighterdays.blogspot.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sharingstoriesbrighterdays. You can also view it directly on YouTube at http://youtu.be/gC_T6y9Oy9U.

The challenge was launched by the Regional Cultural Centre Letterkenny to promote one film from Derry and one from Donegal using social media and free digital marketing tools. The results of the challenge will be presented at a free seminar, ‘Sharing stories in a new media age’ in the RCC, Letterkenny on 25th November along with a description of how the promotion was carried out.

The film is one of twenty produced as part of the “Sharing Stories” project run by the Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny and the Nerve Centre in Derry. Donegal digital marketing company DohertyWhite is helping to promote “Brighter Days” using social and digital media.

“We need people across the county to help promote Colm’s film by viewing it on YouTube or visiting Facebook page and then sharing it with their friends and colleagues”, says Annmarie Doherty of DohertyWhite.
“Everything we do over the 3 weeks will be shared with local arts and community groups so they can promote their work using the same approach”.

Colm and his family attended the opening of the “Sharing Stories” exhibition last Friday in the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny which includes ‘Brighter Days’ and 18 other community and artist films made in Derry and Donegal over the past 2 years. Sharing Stories is a cross-border community film project led by the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny in partnership with the Nerve Centre, Derry. The project is funded by the International Fund for Ireland.