A brand new TG4 six-part teenage drama series will be premiered tomorrow (Friday April 14 ) in the Eye Cinema ahead of its first broadcast on TG4 at 5pm on Thursday April 20.
Full of the thrills and spills of teenage life, Saol Ella is centred on the story of teenage girl Ella who is growing up in the Connemara Gaeltacht. Bursting with excitement to be getting out of school, hanging out with her friends and three months of summer adventures, boyfriends, first kisses and all the fun of a carefree teenage life ahead of her, Ella is numbed to find out her family have decided to take in Gaeilgóirí – Irish College Students for the entire summer.
What a dread for Ella, who now has to share her bedroom with her gran and her life will be literally upside down with all these strangers in her home learning “Gaeilge” for the summer. It will be chores for Ella, a complete upset to all her lovely summer holiday plans, her family are stressed out but needs must and the neighbours aren’t happy either. What have Ella’s family done to her lovely carefree teenage summer life?
Set in a fictional coastal village on the Wild Atlantic Way, where Gaeilgeoirí, and the Coláistí Gaeilge have been part of summer life for generations, Saol Ella cleverly depicts the story of Ella and a group of local teenagers, a host family and what the visiting Gaeilgeoirí bring to their lives.
There is the upset of losing your lovely bedroom and moving out of the house and the dread this brings, the work that Mom and Dad give you for the summer and then there’s the girls coming to your road and potentially taking your boyfriends and eye candy, not to mention the drama of being a teenager. On the other hand Coláistí Gaeilge have so many fond memories for all who attended: first time away from home without your parents, the Céilí’s, first kiss, your first boyfriend or girlfriend and of course speaking Gaeilge for three weeks not to mention outsiders meeting the native Gaeilgeoirí. The excitement, tension and teenage attractions and distractions - TG4’s Saol Ella has it all.
A gripping yet fun, entertaining and dramatic six part teenage drama series, Saol Ella will have lots of fun and frolics but also show the emotions and diversity attached to teenage life and growing up in the Gaeltacht. It also showcases the teenage Gaeilgeoirí who visit, how they react to life in a rural Gaeltacht community and what the mix of teenage life throws at both groups.
Produced by independent TV production company Danú Media and written by Ailbhe Nic Giolla Bhrighde and Gemma Breathnach, Saol Ella brings fun, and light hearted drama to TG4 screens and is entirely aimed at the younger teenage audience. It depicts the nuances of teenage life in an entertaining and amusing story yet throws all of the nostalgia of summer as a Gaeilgeoir to all the thousands of people who spent a term in the Coláiste Gaeilge to learn and improve their Gaeilge. Danú Media co-produce the long established Ros na Rún drama series for TG4 alongside Tyrone Productions and this is another new production which they’ve conceptualised and brought to TG4 screens creating new jobs for cast and crew in an Spidéal.
The lead character Ella is played by Spiddal teenager Ciara Cox, who is no stranger to TG4 screens as she’s already established in TV acting as Maeve in Ros na Rún.
“I’m beyond thrilled to be cast as Ella,” says the Transition Year Student Ciara Cox, “this is another lovely role for me and it’s very different to my character Maeve on TG4, but growing up in an Spidéal, I’m very familiar with Gaeilgeoirí visiting for the summer and the fun we have so its brilliant to showcase the story from a local family’s perspective and how we live our summer holidays with the Coláistí Gaeilge Students who come to learn Gaeilge.”
Saol Ella a six-part teenage drama series is funded by TG4, Sound and Vision Fund of Coimisiún na Meán and S481 Tax Incentives. The project was developed by TG4, the WRAP Fund and Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland. Produced by Danú Media and written by Ailbhe Nic Giolla Bhríghde and Gemma Breathnach, the drama series was filmed in an Spidéal and the south Connemara Gaeltacht area during the summer of 2022.
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