Welcome to the The Filmmaker's Playbook, hosted by writer-director Jason Branagan. This episode features an interview with Rob Higgins and Paddy McGiveny. Rob and Paddy and two of Ireland's most exciting filmmakers. Their debut feature film, Lakelands won Best Irish Feature at the Galway Film Fleadh, was nominated for 4 IFTA Awards, won Best Narrative Feature at Kerry Film Festival and was named Best Irish Film in 2023 at the Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards.  In our conversation, we discuss being self-taught filmmakers, making hyper-personal work, working with Paul Mescal, chasing your story down every possible avenue and we do a deep dive into the making of Lakelands. The purpose of this podcast is to give a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the filmmaking process and to make information about filmmaking accessible to everyone, so whether you're a casual film fan, an aspiring filmmaker, or a seasoned pro, I hope you enjoy today's episode and find some inspiration from learning about Rob and Paddy's journey so far. If you're enjoying the podcast, please share, follow and rate the show. If you have comments, questions or topics you'd like covered on the podcast follow us and leave a comment on instagram @thefilmmakersplaybookpodcast  Follow Jason on instagram @jasonbranagandirector Follow Rob on instagram @roberthiggins3 Follow Paddy on instagram @paddy.mcgiveny Follow Harp Media on instagram @harpmediafilms