O'Connor's GUESTS OF THE NATION Comes to the Big Screen April 2012

Local independent film director, Daniel Speers, and Producers Alex Gibson and Alex Peck, are in the pre-production phase for an adaptation of Frank O’Connor’s classic short story, "Guests of the Nation," which will take viewers into the midst of the Irish War for Independence.

Against the setting of 1921 Ireland, "Guests of the Nation" depicts the unlikely friendship of four men living in a secluded farmhouse. Bonaparte and Noble are members of the IRA, fighting to free their country from the tyranny of British rule. Hawkins and Belcher are British soldiers, taken prisoner during the war and being held captive in the farmhouse. Despite the war raging outside, the four become friends over late-night poker games and religious debates. The real world, however, can not be held at bay forever. One night, Bonaparte is ordered to assist in the execution of his British captives, and he and Noble are forced to choose between loyalties to their country or to the POWs they no longer consider enemies.

Filming of the story will begin in April 2012, with locations in Chester and Berks counties in Pennsylvania.

The film has already garnered attention by winning the selective CARAS grant, and the producers are continuing to raise funds to help cover location permits, meals for the cast and crew, and equipment and transportation costs. To learn more about the film or how you can get involved, readers may find the project's Indiegogo page: http://www.indiegogo.com/Guests-of-a-Nation, or join the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/guestsofanation.