World renowned film maker David Puttnam explores how he made Cork his home in TV doc

AN internationally renowned film producer who made Cork his home, David Puttnam’s personal life journey is as interesting as many a movie.

We get an insight into it in the documentary David Puttnam: The Long Road Home on RTÉ1 on Thursday, June 20, at 10.15pm.

It reveals an intimate portrait of the Oscar-winning film producer as he reflects on his life and the influences which shaped his journey to becoming an Irish citizen, and making Skibbereen his home.

In the film, David, who was born in London in 1941, explores the significance of growing up in the aftermath of the Blitz, the influence of his father, and the recurring theme of male friendship in his films.

He also shares the impact of these life experiences on his present projects and how, now in his eighties, he and his wife Patsy have found their forever home in idyllic West Cork..

In 1982, David won an Oscar for best film for Chariots Of Fire – from there he carved out a distinctive role as an educationalist, environmentalist and political activist.

Other films he was involved in include The Mission, The Killing Fields, Local Hero, Midnight Express, and Memphis Belle.

In this revealing profile,he traces aspects of his life which led him and his wife Patsy to becoming Irish citizens and making their home in Cork.

He explores his improbable journey from a North London School drop-out to a successful film producer, and reveals significant events which shaped his thinking – the impact of his early life in London and his immersion in an environment dominated by fear in the Blitz years, the role his parents played, how he fell in love with Patsy his wife for of over 60 years, the importance of his friendship with Alan Parker, and his stint in Hollywood as CEO of Columbia Pictures.

Throughout the film, he demonstrates how his life is reflected in his work and how each element of his journey supported the next, eventually leading him and Patsy to Ireland.

Clíona Ní Bhuachalla, who produced the documentary, says: “I met David on the Puttnam Scholarship programme and I was immediately captivated by him.

“We were delighted that he agreed to collaborate with us on this film which reflects the threads that connect his life and how he became an Irish man.”

Ní Bhuachalla has made documentaries on John Banville, Edna O’Brien, Sebastian Barry and Colum McCann, as well as a multi-award-winning Seamus Heaney film.