Foyle Film Festival premiere for Buncrana trad musician Dallán Woods

A Buncrana teenager will light up the silver screen later this month when a film in which he plays a leading role receives a special screening at the Foyle Film Festival.

Thirteen-year-old Dallán Woods, already well known in traditional music circles, appears alongside acclaimed Gaoth Dobhair fiddle player and actor Megan Nic Fhionnghaile in TRAD, a new Irish feature film that opens this year’s festival.

The screening will take place on Wednesday, 19 November, at Brunswick Moviebowl in Derry.

TRAD follows gifted young fiddle player Shona McAnally (Nic Fhionnghaile) and her younger brother, played by Woods, as they leave their home in the Donegal Gaeltacht and take to the road with a troupe of wandering musicians.

This road-trip fiddle movie becomes a cross country odyssey filled with adventure, romance and a deep exploration of Ireland’s musical traditions.

The film has already attracted significant critical attention, winning the coveted Audience Award at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh.

Directed by Lance Daly, best known for Black ’47, the film blends drama, humour, and music in an uplifting coming-of-age narrative. Daly’s cast also includes well-known Irish actors Aidan Gillen and Sarah Greene, adding further weight to what has been described as one of the standout Irish releases of the year.

Read more: Buncrana musician performs in Netflix series on the Guinness dynasty

For Woods the film marks a major milestone. Coming from a well-known musical family, he grew up steeped in the traditions that underpin the film’s narrative. His mother, the renowned fiddler and academic Liz Doherty, is one of Donegal’s best-known traditional musicians and educators. His father, Jim Woods, is a respected musician and teacher who has long played a central role in developing young trad players in Inishowen and runs Scoil Trad Buncrana.

That musical grounding made Dallán a natural fit for the role.

Wildcard Distribution, the Irish company behind major releases including the Kneecap movie and the forthcoming Saipan film exploring the Keane-McCarthy saga, has taken on Irish distribution duties for TRAD. The company is expected to announce a wider cinema release following the festival screenings.

The Foyle Film Festival, now in its 38th year and regarded as one of the leading Oscar-affiliated festivals in Ireland, regularly features world and Irish premieres from emerging talent as well as established filmmakers.

TRAD screens at 8pm on Wednesday, 19 November, at Brunswick Moviebowl in Derry. Tickets are available through the Brunswick Moviebowl website.