Gerald Heffernan
- Producer
- Director
Gerald Heffernan formed Frontier Films in 1986. Since then he has
produced a wide range of TV programmes and worked extensively with
Irish state broadcaster RTE, the BBC and Channel 4 in the UK, as well
as PBS and cable channel A&E in the US. His programmes have been shown
on TVE in Spain, ARTE in Germany and NHK in Japan. Event and
entertainment programming he has produced include 'The Session' which
won an ACE award in the US, the launch programme for Ireland's Irish
language television channel 'T na G', and 'The Failte Sessions', a live
entertainment event transmitted across Europe to celebrate the
accession of six new member states into the EU in 2005. Some of his
documentary work includes 'Curious- The Velvet Underground in Europe'
for Channel 4 UK, which tells the story of the legendary New York
band's European tour when they reformed in 1996 and which is archived
in the Museum of Film in Television in New York. For RTE, 'Remember Me'
was an IFTA award nominated account of the devastating effects of
Alzheimer's disease on sufferers and carers, 'Big Boys Don't Cry' an
exploration of the causes of young male suicide in Ireland and 'The Big
Move' a two part chronicle of the amalgamation of three centuries-old
Dublin hospitals and their move to suburban Tallaght. More recently,
'Tsunami: One Year On' was an account of the early stages of
reconstruction in Thailand and India after the disastrous tsunami in
2005 and 'One in Six' told the story of how Irish NGO Concern has
revolutionized the treatment of malnutrition in developing countries.
Factual programming includes two series of Business Enterprise programme 'Start Me Up', and over 200 programmes of the popular RTE1 travel series 'No Frontiers'. Other long running programming includes the all Ireland schools quiz 'Blackboard Jungle', [600 programmes] and the pop quiz 'Number One' [150 programmes] In 2006,the 2 part drama documentary 'Fallout', which imagined the devastating impact on Ireland of a major nuclear incident at Sellafield, was nominated for an IFTA Award for best drama. In May 2011 he produced the concert held in the Dublin Convention Centre to celebrate the State visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland and the opening ceremony of the 2011 Solheim Cup from Killeen Castle.
Factual programming includes two series of Business Enterprise programme 'Start Me Up', and over 200 programmes of the popular RTE1 travel series 'No Frontiers'. Other long running programming includes the all Ireland schools quiz 'Blackboard Jungle', [600 programmes] and the pop quiz 'Number One' [150 programmes] In 2006,the 2 part drama documentary 'Fallout', which imagined the devastating impact on Ireland of a major nuclear incident at Sellafield, was nominated for an IFTA Award for best drama. In May 2011 he produced the concert held in the Dublin Convention Centre to celebrate the State visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland and the opening ceremony of the 2011 Solheim Cup from Killeen Castle.