Hope is always on the horizon - that's the message of a new short film about Mayo and its people during the coronavirus pandemic.
Oceans Apart, Together In Spirit is the creation of award-winning director Lorcan Hynes and is being released to mark #MayoDay, Saturday 2 May.
It is being screened on the website mayo.ie and is the follow-up to the Our People, Our Place, Our Day initiative which received critical acclaim and earned over half a million views around the world.
Following on from the original, Oceans Apart focuses on Irish emigration and connection in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Using interweaving voices of Mayo people thousands of miles from home, the film offers a poignant reflection of 2020 Ireland.
Exploring the realities of life for people during lockdown and for those who have emigrated, it looks at the hardships and tensions experienced by those who leave and those who stay.
"When the storm settles - and the storm will settle - we'll see you again," one local tells the camera.
Another talks of how "hope is always on the horizon" and that Mayo people, even if oceans apart, are always "together in spirit".
The short packs a powerful message about the strength and resilience of people, apparent now more than ever.
The ultimate message - and it applies to all of us, not just Mayo people - is that though we are apart from those we love, we will always be together ... until we meet again.
