This looks well worth a watch.
Emigration has long been a part of life in Ireland and there’s barely a family in the country that hasn’t been affected in some way, shape or form.
Thousands of Irish people have made lives for themselves – some temporary, others permanent – in countries a long, long way from home and the distance between them and their loved ones can often be difficult for both parties.
This Wednesday, RTÉ One will document some of the many families affected by emigration in Missing You, a six-part observational documentary series filmed almost entirely using Skype video calls, a world first.
The documentary will show the lengths the Irish diaspora go to maintaining and nurturing relationships with their loved ones despite the thousands of miles between them.
Clip via RTÉ
The show captures their stories and witnesses their relationships all through the confines of video calls, with viewers getting an insight into the intimacy, the honesty, the highs and lows of everyday life and the complexities of missing home.
Missing You was directed by Karen Moran and produced by Sally Young and took over a year to make.
After casting 12 sets of callers – from whole families to best friends spread across the globe – more than 600 hours of footage was generated using recording software that kicked in every time the participants used their video call software. Both sides of the calls were recorded separately and edited together for television.
Clip via RTÉ
Speaking about the documentary, Sally Roden said: “By using this technology we were able to get incredible access to the lives of our participants who very quickly forgot that they were being recorded and settled into their everyday conversations.
“It was no holds barred and we were able to capture some amazing stories over the course of the year and in incredibly intimate detail.”
Missing You starts on RTÉ One on Wednesday, June 7 at 8.30pm with the first episode currently available as a sneak peek on RTÉ Player here.
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