Singer and actress Bronagh Gallagher has spoken of her efforts to build a sense of community in her native Derry through drama and the filming of her new movie, A Bump along the Way, which opens next Friday.
The producer of the film, which is about a surprise pregnancy, is her sister Louise. The movie was shot in 18 days in Derry and was scripted by Tess MacGowan and directed by Shelly Love.
Gallagher, who starred in The Commitments and had a brief role in Pulp Fiction, described the project as "a family affair", which involved sourcing local talent as much as possible.
Local camera operators, technical people and local actors were employed, local schoolchildren were extras, and filming was done at Lisneal College.
"It was very important to me that it was shot in Derry," Gallagher said on The Ray D'Arcy Show on Saturday night. "There's a term that's used in Derry, 'cross-community,' and I as a Derry woman will try to eradicate that term 'cross community' as long as I live, because a community is a community. If I can bring people together through this kind of work - there's too many people not doing that."
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Gallagher plays Pamela, a 44-year-old separated mother who develops the 'bump' of the title after a one-night stand.
"She ends up in van with a man half her age, and one and one makes two, she realises she's pregnant" the actress said. Meanwhile, Pamela's school-going daughter Allegra (Lola Pettigrew) tries to deal with the fact she has a new sibling on the way while managing her mother, so to speak.
The actress, who was born in 1972, grew up in the Bogside area. "It was a very, very difficult time and I just hope to the bottom of my heart that we never return to that."
She recalled how her parents would distract their children with pantomime and visits to the local Orchard art gallery which was curated at the time by Declan McGonagle, future head of NCAD and the first director of first director of the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
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Gallagher is currently filming series two of Brassick for Sky One.
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