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Director's Statement
EDEN first came to my attention as a manuscript for an as yet un-produced play by Eugene O'Brien. Eugene's play, which was written as two monologues, struck me immediately as something I would like to try and adapt for film. The play was set in a world familiar to me, the midlands of Ireland, and related the simple story of a husband and wife, Billy and Breda who are approaching their tenth wedding anniversary with very different goals in mind. I was particularly interested in exploring how the central characters managed to physically live under the same roof yet be emotionally as far apart as any two people could be. The feeling of inevitability in Billy's drunken journey was something I felt that all males could identify with. While Breda's desire for Billy just to come home with her, would ring true for many women. The play's subsequent success and translation into several languages confirmed that Eugene's writing had hit a chord.
The biggest challenge in adapting the play was moving away from the monologue form. Finding a way to portray the central characters' inner lives in a visual way and fleshing out the peripheral characters who were only ever referred to in the play. But with Eugene's script, the cinematography of Owen McPolin and the fine performances from the two leads, Eileen Walsh and Aidan Kelly, I believe we've captured the feeling of the original work and hopefully brought a totally new dimension to it.