UCC Film & Screen Media and the Lord Puttnam Scholarship at the Dublin International Film Festival

4 Mar 2022

Water Under The Bridge, written and directed by UCC Lord Puttnam Scholar Rehan Ali and starring Film & Screen Media graduate Oran Treacy, premiered at the Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival on Saturday February 26th. It will now have its television premiere on Virgin Media One on Friday 4th March at 11 pm. 

The film’s director, Rehan Ali, grew up in Carrick-on-Sur, residing at the Bridgewater House hostel. When his script won the Virgin Media Discovers Short Film Competition in 2021, he decided to shoot the film in his home town, drawing upon his own experiences of Direct Provision.  

Rehan studied Neuroscience at University College Cork and is currently pursuing a Master's in Bioinformatics. He was a recipient of the 2021 Lord Puttnam Scholarship, which afforded him industry mentorship from Oscar-winning film producer David Puttnam, an experience which helped Rehan to shape his award-winning script.  

Water Under The Bridge captures the unique journey of Bilal who has just arrived in a 
small Irish town. Protesting his father's warnings, he leaves the confines of Direct 
Provision to venture into this new world for the first time. Here he meets three local teens 
and their interaction is the catalyst to a self-realisation that could change everything. 

Water Under the Bridge will screen on Virgin Media One, Friday 4th March at 11pm: 

https://www.virginmedia.ie/discovers/