“The most interesting thing I have seen on the big screen recently was called Town of Strangers at Cork Film Festival. It was termed a 'docu-drama' and looked at the lives of a diverse group of people who all ended up living in Gort, Co. Galway. I had never seen an Irish documentary like it before. It wasn't just 'talking heads' with back stories in Syria, Brazil, Afghanistan or the UK. The director, Treasa O'Brien, allowed the lives of the blow-ins to spin out in time as they re-interpreted their own stories for her. So many documentaries you see now are exploitative or sensationalist. Town of Strangers, on the other hand, was complex and unresolved, mysterious and restrained, just like most real people.” – Alice Maher RTÉ.ie is the website of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's National Public Service Broadcaster. listen online

“Anne-Sophie Marie: Ah yes we can relate!” “Treasa O'Brien: I think most people do, it's why I'm making this film, most people can relate to this film on an emotional level, rather than a didactic activist level where you'd feel morally guilty. If you actually relate and think “this is me” then it can change your consciousness more. I hope. I'm an idealist!” full interview

“Anne-Sophie Marie: Ah yes we can relate!” “Treasa O'Brien: I think most people do, it's why I'm making this film, most people can relate to this film on an emotional level, rather than a didactic activist level where you'd feel morally guilty. If you actually relate and think “this is me” then it can change your consciousness more. I hope. I'm an idealist!” full interview

“Anne-Sophie Marie: Ah yes we can relate!” “Treasa O'Brien: I think most people do, it's why I'm making this film, most people can relate to this film on an emotional level, rather than a didactic activist level where you'd feel morally guilty. If you actually relate and think “this is me” then it can change your consciousness more. I hope. I'm an idealist!” read review