Unbreakable, a documentary about the phenomenal story of motivational speaker Mark Pollock, is the opening film of this year's OFFLINE film festival.
Six years in the making Ross Whittaker's documentary tells the unbelievable story of Pollock who, despite losing his sight a decade earlier, became the first blind person to race to the South Pole.
However three weeks before his wedding, an accident paralysed him from the waist down. Unbreakable follows his rehabilitation and his search for cures with the help of science and robotics. Festival attendees will have the chance to listen to Pollock and Whittaker in a post-screening Q&A.
Other highlights of the fifth annual Offaly Film Festival include the World Premiere of The Iron Man, about Irish artist and poet Michael Thatcher's battle with terminal cancer using home-grown cannabis oil.
OFFline Film Festival will take place from Wednesday 8 to Sunday 12 October 2014. For more information, click on offlinefilmfestival.com
Now: In the Wings on a World Stage is another highlight and follows Hollywood great Kevin Spacey and a large travelling theatre company touring the world with a production of Shakespeare’s Richard III.
Another highlight of the Festival, the OFFline Filmmaking Challenge, will see teams from all over Europe arrive in Birr to shoot and screen their short films in less than 60 hours.
The winner of this challenge is guaranteed a place at the Galway Film Fleadh 2015, which makes it eligible for The Oscars!
This year OFFline will include a Sensory Screening at IMC Tullamore, specifically tailored for children with autism, in association with Laois Offaly Families for Autism.
