MICHAEL INSIDE

Director's Statement

Much of my early work in filmmaking involved community projects, covering themes of social disadvantage and education. Over the years, I have come across many young people already living with feelings of failure and defeat. Those who had left school early would often appear from their beds in the afternoon, and go to bed very late. They didn’t always occupy the same time-zone as their peers who were in school or working, and this further separated them. Many of these teenagers, mostly from disadvantaged communities, couldn’t really identify much meaning in their lives, and they punctuated their boredom with the thrill of mischief. I thought of a film that would highlight the vulnerability of many teenagers in Ireland who don’t necessarily want to be criminals, but who, due to the circumstances of their environment, could easily become part of the prison population. My initial impulse was simply to put that path up on the screen, through a story that would have the potential to reaffirm what many people know to be true, to enlighten others, and to make an impression on many – especially young people who might benefit from seeing lives familiar to their own in a big picture.