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Caroline Farrell

Caroline Farrell is a writer and filmmaker from Dublin, Ireland. A ‘Stowe Story Labs’ Launch Fellow 2023, she was also the recipient of a Stowe Story Lab/Screen Ireland Screenwriting Fellowship, 2022, she was a finalist in the BBC Writer’s Room 2022 (Top 3%). In 2018, Caroline wrote and directed the short film FRAMED, selected for screening at over 30 festivals worldwide. It also won ‘Best Short Horror Film’ at the Underground Cinema Film Festival, Ireland. 2019.

VIMEO LINK TO CAROLINE’S FILMS

During Lockdown 2020, Caroline made a short experimental film, HEART(h) themed around the emotions of grief and isolation during lockdown. It screened at the Little Cinema Galway in 2021. She has written and co-produced the short films ADAM [2013] and the multi-award winning IN RIBBONS [2015], the only Irish short film to screen at the ‘Women Deliver Global Conference’ in Copenhagen in 2016.

Caroline is the author of the novel, LADY BETH, ‘Best Novel’ at The Carousel Aware Prize Awards 2017 (Ireland) and the winner of an Eric Hoffer Award 2019 (Mystery/Thriller Category) (USA). She is currently developing LADY BETH as an episodic Series for TV.

October 4, 2023 by carolinefarrell/author and screenwriter

Stowe Story Labs Launch Fellow

In my capacity as a Stowe Launch Fellow 2023, it was such an honour to spend a week in Stowe, Vermont, working on the pilot episode for my TV Series, LADY BETH.

In beautiful surroundings, and a community of like-minded writers, the week was filled with insight and affirmation from workshops, panel discussions, meetings with mentors, and peer group sessions.

A very special thank you to the Stowe Story Lab founders David Rocchio and David Pope for their kindness and expertise in all aspects of the screenwriters journey, and to Katerina and Kerry who truly nurtured the group in a most pleasant and encouraging environment. The support from the Stowe Team has been immeasurable!

Stowe Story Labs offer many fellowships, retreats, labs and opportunities for screenwriters, so check out their website HERE

I highly recommend that you do!

December 8, 2022 by carolinefarrell/author and screenwriter

Honoured to be awarded The Stowe Story Labs / Galway Film Fleadh Marketplace Fellow 2023

I want to share massive appreciation to Stowe Story Labs, Screen Ireland and the Galway Film Fleadh for awarding me the ‘Stowe Story Labs/Galway Film Fleadh Marketplace Fellow 2023’, and also huge respect to the talented screenwriters, producers, speakers and supportive mentors I had the opportunity to work with and be inspired by during the inaugural Connemara Writers Retreat 2022. I’m excited to be awarded this amazing opportunity and to be moving forward with my feature screenplay, IONA’S HOUSE.

https://stowestorylabs.org/news-1/caroline-farrell-stowe-galway-film-market-fellow

I would encourage more Irish screenwriters to apply for the many wonderful opportunities that Stowe Story Labs currently offer. Through their partnerships with Screen Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen and the Galway Film Fleadh, they provide support and encouragement to progress your work through a highly professional and personable process, not to mention the nurturing atmosphere of Renvyle House!

October 17, 2022 by carolinefarrell/author and screenwriter

Stowe Story Labs | Screen Ireland Screenwriting Fellowship 2022

I am absolutely delighted to be a recipient of a Stowe Story Lab | Screen Ireland Screenwriting Fellowship, attending the Connemara Writer’s Retreat at Renvyle House. Five full days of mentoring, peer-to-peer feedback, access to informative panels with industry professionals, writing exercises and an unquantifiable amount of inspiration, encouragement and constructive feedback. Grateful and inspired to move forward with my work. Thanks also to the Galway Film Fleadh and Northern Ireland Screen for their support of the Lab.

June 22, 2021 by carolinefarrell/author and screenwriter

Book Recommendations: June 2021

Here is the list of titles I discussed last night at our recommended reads session for South Dublin County Libraries, Tallaght. Hope you check some of them out and let me know what your think.

1: The End of The World is a Cul De Sac by Louise Kennedy. Published by Bloomsbury

There’s a quote that I heard many years in relation to writing…If you scratch the skin of pain, you’ll find beauty – and that certainly applies to this debut collection. Dark, funny, sad and sometimes visceral, I highly recommended these short stories.

2: How the Moon Travels by Oein DeBhairduin. Published by Skein Press

A magical collection of folklore tales that the author has gathered from his own childhood, passed down through the generations of the Travelling Community through the oral tradition of storytelling. It’s a gorgeous book, very connected to nature, wildlife and landscape, and beautifully written.

3: Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller. Published by Penguin

The story revolves around a brother and sister, middle-aged twins, their lives turned upside down when their mother dies. There’s a darkness to the story but there’s also resilience and I just loved the character of Jeanie.

4: Panenka by Rónán Hession. Published by Bluemoose Books

Hession’s debut, Leonard and Hungry Paul has been hugely successful, and deservedly so, as it’s a wonderful book. Panenka, his second novel is equally brilliant. I think the author’s great gift is that he writes gentle characters and places them in very relatable worlds, in this case, a middle-aged man, making amends for the mistakes of his past and learning new ways to mend his broken life. Just beautiful.

5: The Sound Mirror by Heidi James. Published by Bluemoose Books

Spanning three generations of women and thousands of miles, the story begins with Tamara who is visiting her mother for the last time. Along for the journey are the ghosts of her past generations, their stories woven in to reveal the secrets, joys and struggles of Tamara’s life. LOVE!

6: The Beasts They Turned Away by Ryan Dennis. Published by Epoque Press

If you’re looking for something a little different, I highly recommend this book. Set in a stark rural community, an aging farmer is burdened with looking after a strange little boy who does not speak, and whom the local villagers believe to be cursed. Told with a real sense of place, and sharp and haunting prose.

7: Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss. Published by Granta.

A super-slim volume packed with tension and dread, Ghost Wall unravels the story of a young girl called Silvie and the hold that her strange, obsessive father has over her. Perfectly paced, beautifully written, this story will creep up on you.

8: The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward. Published by Viper

If you’re looking for a well-written psychological thriller/horror/crime novel, this is the book for you. It’s quite a challenge to describe it without giving some of the plot away, but basically, it is the story of a man named Ted who lives with his daughter and his cat, Olivia, who is one of the main narrators of the book. Stick with it, it’s an unsettling, heart-stopping read, with an ending that is far from predictable.

9: Laura Cassidy’s Walk of Fame by Alan McMonagle. Published by Picador

Set in Galway, it’s about a young woman called Laura whose father always told her that she was destined for fame. Now Laura is on a mission. The books explores grief, yearning and family tension, and it’s also funny and hopeful. Loved it.

A Whole New Plan for Living by Jim Lucey: Published by Hachette Ireland

10: There aren’t many of us who haven’t been affected in some way by the events of the past while – I for sure have had my own share of grief and the anxiety that goes with it. This is a gentle, easy to read guide to achieving balance and wellness.

And always remember, If you can’t find what your looking for, ask a Librarian. if they don’t have it, they know how to get it!

June 16, 2021 by carolinefarrell/author and screenwriter

Leaving 2020 between the pages…

This is my diary for 2020.

Projects progressed. Notes on cancelled creative, teaching and facilitative work. Notes on other offers of work I have declined. Work that under normal circumstances I would have enthusiastically leapt in, head first.

The energy of 2020 did not permit that.

This diary is also bundled with many notes, cards and tokens. Blessings from the friends who kept in touch, those connections that proved so vital to our mental health. To our resilience.

And what a year for paper-cuts. Some healed, others still open sores. I’ve dealt with personal ill-health. Watched my elderly father decline, and just recently, experienced the devastation of a family member’s death during brutal Covid restrictions. This diary is a log of heartache. Of anxious days. Of a year for questions and revelations, of feeling battered and bruised.

For all of it, I hope I will emerge a little wiser. Right now, all I really know for sure is that the universe has plans for us. A future that we cannot control.

What we CAN control are the energies we allow to share that future with us. The people who make it bearable. The ones who think outside of themselves to ask how YOUR day is going. The ones always ready to offer support. To listen. To be on standby with a supply of bandaids for those pesky paper-cuts that might never heal. Cherish THOSE people.

For 2021, my friends, I wish you all the happiest of days. We only have to do one at a time. There will be no new year resolutions, though I will try to be resolute in avoiding the following:

1# Rumination: fuck that noise!

2# Dry January in Lockdown: fuck that too!

December 16, 2020 by carolinefarrell/author and screenwriter

The Librarian’s Cellar: Boys Don’t Cry by Fíona Scarlett

Set in the soul of inner city Dublin, a family struggles with the lot of their circumstances and the wolf of criminal menace at their door. At the core are two brothers, one fading, the other lusting for an alternative life that they both deserve. Gritty. Devastating. This story will linger.

My thanks to Netgalley and Faber Books for the opportunity to read this ARC, due for publication in April, 2021.

November 27, 2020 by carolinefarrell/author and screenwriter

Librarian’s Cellar: Some recommended reads…

WALKING WITH GHOSTS

A joy to read. Byrne’s memoir is beautifully told, his visual writing evoking laughter, but also profound sorrow through powerful and deeply personal reminiscence. Whether describing aspects of his childhood, his life in Ireland or his career adventures abroad, every experience is recounted with honesty, dignity, humility, and a riveting sense of place. My thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to read this book.

A GHOST IN THE THROAT

“Perhaps the past is always trembling inside the present…” It’s true what they’re saying. This book is a treasure. A haunting. The extraordinary within the ordinary, a tale within a tale, told beautifully.

THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY

“That the prison wasn’t the place, but the perspective.” Nora Seed has hit rockbottom… until she finds herself in the Midnight Library. Matt Haig explores the complexities of life through magical realism. Superb!

AS YOU WERE

Elaine’s poetic writing carried me along, page over page. If you’ve ever spent time in a hospital ward you’ll identify with these characters, so beautifully and sympathetically drawn. Particularly Sinead, flawed, stubborn, wounded. Heart-wrenching.