A Laois family were among the winners at the LauraLynn Children’s Hospice Oscars ceremony in Dublin.
Portlaoise native Liam Ryan, 9, and his family starred in ‘Honey I Shrunk Darth Vader’.
The film is about when ET arrived in Laois and there is only one family that can help him return home but the dark side has other plans.
Liam starred in the film along with his twin brother Sean who played ET.
And the movie was so good that it won the Best Original Screenplay award.
The Ryan family’s fun-filled movie was one of eight original short films featuring LauraLynn children, which premiered at the VIP black tie event at the weekend.
The LauraLynn Oscars is a much-loved event in the hospice’s calendar and involves LauraLynn children, their siblings, and their parents writing, producing and starring in their very own short films with the generous help of industry professionals.
Shot on location in various counties around Ireland, the films span a range of genres, including comedy, action, animation and drama, with all films edited and produced by Windmill Lane Studios.
The evening ended with each movie receiving its very own ‘LauraLynn Oscar’, presented on the evening by Baz Ashmawy and 2FM radio presenter Tracy Clifford.
LauraLynn, the only dedicated children’s hospice in the State, provides clinical care, healthcare support, and palliative care services to children with exceptional and life-limiting conditions.
It costs €5.2m per year to run LauraLynn’s Children’s Hospice, €4.2m of must be generated through fundraised income from events and activities.
Of the 3,840 children with life-limiting conditions in Ireland, it is estimated that more than 700 of them require specialist hospice care. Close to 350 children with a life-limiting condition die each year, most within the first year of life.
Rachel Nolan, Interim CEO of LauraLynn, added: “We’re delighted that this has been another successful year for the LauraLynn Oscars.
“A core part of our service is creating fun memory-making activities for the children and their families, which is why projects such as this are so vital: they offer the opportunity to set illness aside for a while and to create ever-lasting experiences that are cherished by everyone involved.
“The films were top-notch, and each was witty, innovative, and touching in turn – it was an event that everyone will remember for some time.”
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