PRODUCER Tomás Hardiman with the poster from his award-winning documentary, The Days of Trees. Photo: Ray Ryan

IFTA AWARD FOR TOMÁS

Award-winning documentary showing in Galway cinemas

THE title for the IFTA award winning documentary The Days of Trees came from a poem written by Tuam’s Tomás Hardiman.

The Days of Trees is directed by Alan Gilsenan and produced by Tomás Hardiman. It details the abuse Tomás suffered as a young child and is currently showing at The Pálás Cinema and Eye Cinema in Galway. It opened at The Pálás on Friday April 19, and in the Eye Cinema a day later.

“I’m very grateful to the people from Tuam who have gone to see the film. It’s such a difficult subject to talk about, but they are saying very positive things about it. Somebody said to me that it is ‘revolutionary’,” said Tomás.

“I had written a poem that had the line ‘The Days of Trees’ in it, and that’s where the name came from. Documentaries can take a lifetime in gestation. You can be a good few years working on one.

“We started this in 2018. It can take six or seven years to finish, and you can do documentaries in six months too. It’s depending on the subject matter.”

Tomás Hardiman grew up in Church View in Tuam, and now lives on the Galway-Clare border. He has produced “Ten or 11 films”, including four with his good friend Alan Gilsenan.

For more, pick up this week’s Tuam Herald or log onto our digital edition HERE