Migrant Fictions

Download: Migrant Fictions (54 Megs) Migrant Fictions is an ambitious new drama project, bringing together the talents of a diverse group of immigrant writers to capture their experience as émigrés to Ireland. German-Polish writer / director Dominik Turkowski developed five short drama scripts through workshops with writers from the immigrant community. Their stories capture the […]

Download: Migrant Fictions (54 Megs)

Migrant Fictions is an ambitious new drama project, bringing together the talents of a diverse group of immigrant writers to capture their experience as émigrés to Ireland. German-Polish writer / director Dominik Turkowski developed five short drama scripts through workshops with writers from the immigrant community. Their stories capture the varied experiences of newcomers to Ireland. This project provided the opportunity for immigrants to articulate their experiences in their own words, through five short radio dramas. These dramas were devised collectively by the migrants themselves, and connect in profound and mysterious ways that reflect with humour and humanity what it means to be a migrant in Ireland today.

We’d like to thank world famous film and videogame composer Craig Stuart Garfinkle who kindly donated his compositions to the project.

The Writers

The plays were written by a talented and diverse group of Migrant Writers. The writers were Dalia Smelstoriūtė, Özgecan Kesici, Dominik Turkowski, Tina Brescanu, and Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan.

Producer and sound designer was Gareth Stack.

Check out the shows complete Credits.

The Plays

Experience 5 ten-minute dramas on travel, isolation and the tension between tradition and modern lifestyles. 5 stories sharing perspectives on  love and family, of acceptance and prejudice, of frustration with the bureaucracy and profound questions between home and adoptive culture.

In profound and mysterious ways they reflect with humour and humanity what it means to be a migrant in Ireland today.

Girl On A Plane

Elif, a German born Kazakh girl, is travelling home to meet her father. Elif is studying biochemistry in Ireland, but has dreams of becoming an actress. Dreams her traditionalist father thinks are beneath his daughter. Will she go her own way ?

Howling Walls

Robert has inherited a valuable collection of paintings – the work of his well-known >artist mother Margaret Owalska, a Polish migrant to Ireland. At an auction shortly after his mother’s death, Robert is interrupted by a man who is claiming ownership of his mother’s work.

Talk at Me 

Aysegul, a Turkish migrant working in Dublin, meets her boyfriend for coffee. Really Aseygul wants to address her VISA worries, but she has to deal with the reality that her boyfriend is more interested in expressing his own opinions than listening to her problems. Asysegul has been rejected by the bureaucracy of the employment permit programme. Will she have to return to the unstable political situation in Turkey ?

Eat In or Take Out 

Egle, an elderly Lithuanian woman travelling in Ireland for work, heads to a restaurant to meet Jonas. Jonas is in Ireland working eighty hour weeks to save up money for his wife and child back home. Together they talk about life and while a new friendship unfolds, Egle is also facing the sudden ending of a long lasting romance.

I Belong – Tina Brescanu

A young Swedish girl Pernilla, falls for Carrick, a charming Irish musician on a hot night in a Swedish town. Following him back to Ireland, Pernilla must deal with the realities of working in Ireland, crank callers, and a rude elderly lady she cares for, Peig. Gradually Pernilla and Peig develop a mutual respect and become fast friends. At the same time, pressured by Carrick to join him living in isolated Connemara, Pernilla is pushed to take a tough decision..