‘(R)onanism’ has the answer to Valentines that never came.
A new short comedy series made in Cork city is being premiered on the RTE Player from today, Monday February 16th as part of this year’s RTE / Irish Film Board ‘Storyland’ commission.
‘(R)onanism’ is the newest project from the multi award-winning Cork filmmaking team of Castleisland native, Shaun O’ Connor and Leesider, Tadhg Hickey. Set in Cork, the show is a comedy drama about Ronan, a guy who falls in love with himself, marries himself and plans to spend the rest of his life with himself! But little does Ronan know that Noddy, a young admirer, has been secretly filming him and posting the videos online. The videos go viral and ‘Ronanism’ reaches cult status — Before things get totally out of hand, Ronan, with the help of his friend Laura must convince Noddy, the ‘Ronanists’, and his cash-obsessed talent manager McPhun that it’s not him they should be following — but themselves.
Written by Tadhg Hickey and directed by Shaun O’ Connor, ‘(R)onanism’ was shot in various locations in Cork, including Blarney Castle, Fitzgeralds Park, Triskel Christchurch and the Japanese Gardens in Ballinlough.
(R)onanism is the only Cork-based project of the five chosen Storyland projects this year (from almost 200 applicants) and features contributions from a host of Cork legends including Stevie G, John Creedon and Jack Walsh of Killinaskully fame. The show also features lead-role performances from rising Cork talent such as Laura O Mahony, Dominic MacHale and Paul Courtney.
(R)onanism was produced by Deirdre Levins from the Oscar-winning production company Fantastic Films. With a crew of over 25 local people working on it, it was a large-scale production and the support from the cast & crew throughout was integral. This year’s RTE Storyland project is backed by the Irish Film Board, and in the past has produced such success
stories as Hardy Bucks and Rob Cawley and Gary Duggan, the creators of Amber. The (R)onanism team hope to follow in the steps of Hardy Bucks, whose Storyland project spawned two TV series and a feature film.
The Storyland award is another coup for Shaun and Tadhg, whose work has already claimed prizes at film festivals such as the Cork and Kerry Film Festivals, Charlie Chaplin Film Festival and, most recently, DC Shorts, the biggest short film festival on the East Coast of the US, where their film Uisce Beatha took home the prestigious Filmmakers’ Choice award.
Both Shaun and Tadhg see the project as a great opportunity and stepping-stone in their careers, and hope that Ronanism puts Cork on the map as a location for future TV series.
“I’m thrilled with how well the show has turned out. It was a huge effort on behalf of everyone involved and I can’t wait for it to go live. This is a great opportunity for Cork talent,” said Shaun.
(R)onanism is available to watch on the RTE Player website from today Monday February
16th. Check it out here: http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10376081/
To ‘Place him’ as we say, Shaun O’Connor is a son of Paudie WH and Deirdre O’Connor.
Shaun O’ Connor Bio:
Shaun’s film work has has been widely acclaimed, and has won awards at various festivals, including at the DC Shorts Film Festival, Corona Cork Film Festival, Chicago Irish Film Festival, the Fastnet Short Film Festival, the Kerry Film Festival, and the Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival. He has also directed numerous music videos, and his music video for ‘Conspiracy’ by Echogram won an award at the 2011 Irish Music Television Awards. His work can be seen at www.shaunoconnor.com
