Gerald Heffernan

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.