On Wednesday, the 6th annual British & Irish Film Season in Luxembourg featured the Irish legend of Diarmuid and Grainne, albeit in a contemporary gangland setting, in the first screening outside Ireland of Pursuit.

The storyline is the same, with the daughter of a chief (in this case a gangland mobster/racketeer) running away to be with a lieutenant and the ensuing chases by the chief and his men to get her back, regardless of the consequences. What made this film special was the high-tempo atmosphere throughout and the musical score in particular, with the character development of the lead and supporting characters crucial too.

Director/writer Paul Mercier and producer Anne Gately were in attendance and participated in the post-screening Q&A session. From a background of theatre and teaching, he explained how the original storyline, and the legend, needed to be retold in a way so that young people can more easily identify with it.

In the same week that the film has gone on general release in Ireland - the world premier had been at the Galway Film Fleadh in July. Producer Anne Gately explained the processes of securing release as well as screening it internationally. She also revealed the budget to be circa €1.4 million which involved shooting scenes around Ireland as well as near Malaga, Spain, for the "paradise" scenes.

Earlier in the evening, the film season hosted a Writing Masterclass in which Festival Organiser Geoff Thompson guided three authors through various phases and considerations of writing, with different emphasises and approaches required for novels and for screenplays. Sean McCormack, a writer/director in the film animation industry (Two by Two / Ooops Noah is Gone) walked though the different components of building characters and the setting as well as writing dialogue, with writing the end first.

Daniel Pembrey, author of The Candidate and currently negotiating the film rights to the story set in Luxembourg, talked about inspiration and creativity, and explained his approach to writing, and Ruth Dugdall, author of Humber Boy B, explained her approach of developing characters and scenes based on real-life observations, as well as the exhaustive editing and proofing process involved. Her now book out in November will feature a storyline set around Luxmbourg's Schueberfouer.

The British & Irish Film Season continues on Thursday evening with the screening of the Ireland-Luxembourg co-production Standby with director Ronan Burke and co-productor David Grumbach in attendance along with members of the Luxembourg cast and crew.

Photo (L-R): Geoff Thompson, BIFS organiser; Anne Gately, producer of Pursuit; Paul Mercier, director/writer of Pursuit