‘Hollywool’ film to bring Wicklow’s historic woollen ties to big screen

A team of actors, producers and directors will bring the rich wool and ovine heritage of the west Wicklow village of Hollywood to life this July when shooting begins on an intriguing new short film – ‘Hollywool’.

A play on words for the small village after which the Californian movie-making metropolis was named, Hollywool is based on a story by Sarah Babiker who, wanting her tale to reach a wider audience, approached a mentor with bags of film experience and a long list of movie credits to her name – Nadia Ramoutar.

A surface reading of the script would frame Hollywool as a culture clash between spoiled teenagers addicted to their screens and their crafty and caring grandparents, who are vying for their attention.

However, the yarn has much deeper implications, weaving many story strands together, with Wicklow’s sprawling green landscapes initially contrasted with the twins’ addiction to their small screens.

The siblings cannot see the bigger picture unfolding before them until the Wi-Fi is cut, ‘Daithí’ enters the picture, and they fall in love with shearing, spinning and weaving. What ensues is a moving piece of storytelling that promises to have a meaningful impact on audiences of all ages.

Originally from Dublin, but now living in Wicklow for over half a decade, after working in film stateside for many years, Nadia explained that their vision is to bring to life a simple family intergenerational drama that pays homage to one of Wicklow’s most precious resources and the need to keep crafts like wool spinning alive.

“Hollywool will be filmed like poetry-in-motion because Hollywood in Wicklow is a cinematically beautiful small town with a rich history and the namesake of the famous California version with the bigger film legacy,” she said.

“We seek to bring rural Wicklow life to the big screen with all its humour, quirkiness and quaintness.

“Filming and living in the Garden of Ireland is a creative person’s dream, and Wicklow naturally offers a set for storytellers to celebrate their craft.

“We have met with locals who live in Hollywood to get their support for our project, and we are delighted that we will be casting a real wool spinner in the role of the grandmother to ensure authenticity and beauty.

“We also have scouted a perfect small farmhouse amongst fields full of sheep to rent for the filming.”

Although her script and project got high praise from judges, Nadia was disappointed that it didn’t receive one of the recent Wicklow film grants offered, so she and her team are fundraising to make the film project a reality.

“It’s a very exciting project that we hope will be great to make but a joy to watch,” she continued.

“We will be able to film this within three days and have the time to get sweeping vistas with drones of the area and the surrounding roads and mountains.

“This film is very important to me and will be an opportunity for me to return to creative filmmaking again. I was born in Ireland but lived in America for many years, where I worked in the television and filmmaking professions for many years.

“I taught filmmaking for many years and two of my students won student Academy Awards. My film career was disrupted when my youngest son was diagnosed with autism, but now that he is older, I have more support for his well-being.

“I know too how excited the local folks in Hollywood have been when I met with them, so we hope to make them all proud of their hometown, which few people know has such a legacy.”

New to filmmaking but an experienced storyteller, Sarah Babiker was born in Ireland and is a Gaelic and Arabic speaker.

Outlining her aim to not only highlight the beauty of such living traditions but show how it may speak to our contemporary world, Sarah said: “It draws a central connection between the natural world (the macrocosm) and the human heart (the microcosm).

“It touches upon many themes relevant to contemporary Ireland.”

Wicklow resident Bradley Gibson, Director and Director Of Photography on Hollywool, said he is delighted to be bringing the beauty of the Garden County to the world through his lens.

“It’s an honour to be part of such a multi-generational and multi-cultural production and being able to film in a beautiful rural area of my home county is the cherry on top,” he said.

“Being both Director and Director Of Photography on this production gives me a unique perspective on the visual style of the project as a whole.

“On one hand, I can see the creative side of creating the stylistic techniques in order to achieve the look for the film, whilst also being able to break down the technical side of the visual feel.”

To help support the making of Hollywool, visit idonate.ie/crowdfunder/Nadia

Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.30am and Fionnán Sheahan's exclusive take on the day's news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter.