Colin’s love poem to his native Tyrone in newly released film

By Alan Rodgers

FILM-fans from Tyrone are in for a special treat with the release online of ‘A Bend in the River.’

Set around the countryside of Altamuskin, Sixmilecross, Augher and other parts of Tyrone, the semi-autobiographical production tells the story of a writer who returns to Ireland after 25 years to confront his own personal ghosts.

The film has been written and produced by Altamuskin native, Colin Broderick. He left the area during the height of the Troubles, and just months after the death of his neighbour, Brian, who was shot dead by the SAS at Drumnakilly along with his brothers-in-law, Martin and Gerard Harte from Loughmacrory in a controversial ambush at Drumnakilly in 1988.

A ‘Bend in the River’, filmed in 2018, is a must-watch for anyone wishing to explore the relationship between Irish-America and Ireland.

As it’s launched online, Colin Broderick has reflected on the production’s personal, as well as wider, significance for him.

“This has been a strange movie to make because I didn’t fully realise what it was until production began,” he said.

“What I was doing was going home to face my own ghosts, and didn’t realise how personal it was. My aim was to try and portray Tyrone and the North in a sincere way, while ensuring that an American audience would be able to get an accurate feel of what life is like here.

“Very few films get Ireland right, apart from those of Jim Sheridan. There has been an era of getting away from reality. I wanted to capture an authentic view of Ireland, and what it’s exactly like.

“My view is that this film reflects how Ireland has moved on from the Troubles, and it was at a particularly bad time that I left. That’s what the writer experiences in this film. This is a different place now than it was then, and the writer realises this.”

Colin began writing professionally soon after sobering up at the age of 40.

Since then, he has become one of Irish-America’s most prominent film-makers and writers.

He has had two memoirs published, as well as a novel, and he has just published a history of Irish writing in America, including a collection of essays by top Irish-American authors about how they became writers there.

“All of my books and my previous feature film ‘Emerald City’ which tells the story of Irish construction workers in New York are about trying to bridge the gap between Ireland and the Irish-American community. This is because there is, in my view, a huge misunderstanding particularly among the Irish about what Irish America is,” he adds.

“The Irish Americans who live here really care about Irish culture, their own heritage and the native places of their parents and grandparents. In many ways, the Irish culture is richer and more preserved here than in Ireland, where there is almost  a shame.

“Ireland has a population of around seven million, yet 40 million Americans claim Irish descent. From my experience, they have far more interest in their heritage and history than those who live in Ireland – yet they are branded as patriotic and stuck in the past. They’re not, and are merely interested in the stories of their families.

“My work is trying to bridge that gap, because, as someone who grew up in Ireland, and now lives in America, I see the connections between  the Irish people harshly judging Irish-Americans. Everything I’ve done for 14 years has been about trying to talk about what that identity means.”

Colin Broderick has described the film as a ‘love poem to his native area’ of Altamuskin, Sixmilecross and Tyrone. He says he sees Ireland as it really is in a way that he never could while living here.

He is also keenly aware of the need to portray how the Troubles affected communities like Tyrone.

“You see movies about the Troubles and how they affected communities, and it’s always centred around Belfast or Derry. The truth is that outside those two places, Tyrone lost almost as many people during the Troubles and this is never focused on,” he adds.

“The story about how the Troubles affected local people going about their daily lives is never addressed. This film is about recognising what really happened and ultimately it’s about forgiveness.

“My community of Altamuskin and Sixmilecross put their faith in me to get it right because I was saying to the world that this was who we were. There was probably a big pressure on me, in that regard, with the result that this was probably the most challenging thing I’ve ever done.

“If I didn’t get it right, then I wouldn’t be going home again because the community gave me their trust to do something very personal.”

Anyone familiar with this area of Tyrone will relish picking out the filming destinations in the locality.

A ‘Bend in the River’ is available now on Amazon Prime, Google Play and YouTube.