Two years since announcing its first original short film in development following an in-house call for concepts, Irish animation prodco Lighthouse Studios’ Póg mo Pigeon made its World Premiere at the 36th Galway Film Fleadh as part of the festival’s Animated Shorts Program on Sunday, July 14 at 12 p.m.
Póg mo Pigeon (a play on the Irish phrase, “póg mo thon,” meaning “kiss my a–”) is “entirely home-grown, and tells a decidedly Irish story,” the studio shares. Set in West Cork in the 1970s, the 2D piece tells the story of Mikey, a young boy who escapes the watchful eyes of Mammy’s Sacred Heart icon by escaping into the freedom of the forest. It’s here he meets Pidgey, whose free-spirited sense of adventure offers a welcome release for Mikey.
The film is directed by Clíodhna Lyons and based on a concept pitched by animator Polly Holland during Lighthouse’s in-house open call in 2021. Holland had joined the studio just a few months previously through the Graduate Traineeship Programme for Animation, VFX and Games, run by Cultural and Creative Industries Skillnet in association with Screen Ireland. Póg mo Pigeon is inspired by a story Holland’s father recounted to her about his childhood in rural Ireland.
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