Niall McKay’s Irish documentary 'A Song for Dad' (aka The Bass Player) has been selected for The Mill Valley Film Festival. The 32nd edition of the US festival will take place from 8-18 October 2009. This will be the film's North American premiere.
The documentary, which recently aired on RTÉ One, is directed by Emmy award-winning filmmaker Niall McKay. Seamus Duggan was producer; camera was overseen by Emmy Award Winner Marissa Aroy, over the four year period that it took to put the documentary together from beginning to end. Tony Cranstoun BAFTA award winner edited the final project.
The documentary, which was shot in Ireland, France, Switzerland and the USA and is set to Irish Jazz music, reveals a story of two journeys; the first as Jim returns to Ireland from Switzerland following the death of his second wife Anna; the other emotional journey is more grueling, as father and son recall the events of Niall’s childhood thirty years ago, his parents’ separation and his mother’s depression, alcoholism and tragic death.
The music that accompanies the documentary was scored by Niall’s father and Jazz musician Jim.
A non-competitive event, the Mill Valley Film Festival now in its 32nd year showcases international features, documentaries, shorts and children's films, annually welcoming over 200 filmmakers to the Californian Festival.
Produced by Portarlington Multi Media and The Media Factory, ‘A Song for Dad’ received funding from the IFB, the Arts Council and RTÉ.
