BY JOHN McCUSKER

A New York film-
maker says she is "thrilled to bits" to have the European premier of her movie screened in the heart of her husband's homeland.

Mary Pat Kelly – who is married to Carrickmore man Martin Sheerin – wrote and directed the film 'Proud,' which will be one of the centerpieces of this year's Mid Ulster Film Festival at An Creagán.

The film tells the story of the crew of the USS Mason, the only African-American sailors to take a warship into combat during World War II. It stars Ossie Davis as hero crewman Lorenzo DuFau with supporting roles by Stephen Rea and John Hume who lay on a warm welcome for the 'true Yanks' crew when they dock in Derry.

Speaking from New York this week, Mary Pat explained how research during the 50th anniversary of the Second World War resulted in her stumbling upon the story of the all-black crew of the wartime destroyer escort and the reception the crew received on their first visit to the port of Derry.

Mary Pat continued, "I was researching a documentary entitled 'Home Away From Home: The Yanks in Ireland' and had discovered that there were 300,000 American soldiers in Ireland during World War II. Americans in general have a hard time understanding Northern Ireland and the Troubles and I was looking for a topic where I could talk about the country in a different way.

"During my research I came across an article in a black newspaper from 1944 entitled 'Irish first to treat USS Mason crew as Americans.' It told the story of how the crew members were warmly greeted and treated without prejudice. I tracked down the man in charge of the USS Mason Association and he told me he had been waiting for this call for fifty years as they had tried to get the story out. That got me hooked and I knew I just had to tell that story."

Originally from Chicago and of Irish descent, Mary Pat has lived and worked in New York for the past 30 years. A former staff member at Good Morning America and Saturday Night Live, she began her film career in 1970 working with Martin Scorsese on In the Park. In addition to screenplays for Columbia, Paramount, Tristar and Savoy, Mary Pat also worked at writing, producing and directing documentaries such as Home Away From Home: The Yanks in Ireland (1993), Proudly We Served: the Men of the USS Mason (1996) and To Live for Ireland: The John Hume Story, which was nominated for an Emmy and was winner of the Special Jury Prize at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

She has also written a number of books including Martin Scorsese: A Journey (1990), Home Away From Home (1994), Good to Go: The Rescue of Scott O'Grady from Bosnia (1996), and is currently working on a novel, Galway Bay.

In the aftermath of 9/11 Mary Pat was eager to reach out to a younger audience and felt there was a need to produce a positive story and one which portrayed "what it means to be an American."

Filmed in 2002, 'Proud' was partly shot in Derry, Downhill and at Dunluce Castle. Based on Mary Pat's book on the topic, it was later developed into the feature film. "We tried Hollywood but they wouldn't do it the way we wanted to, so we did it ourselves," she says.

The cast also includes some familiar family relationships. There's Quincy Jones's daughter, Sugar Ray Leonard's grandson and Forrest

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Whittaker's wife Kiesha. Husband Martin also designed the website. "We call it 'friends and family productions'," Mary Pat laughs.

The story of the reception the Mason's crew received in Derry bears striking similarities to a tale told to her by her husband.

"Martin told me the story of how the people of Carrickmore had been kind and hospitable towards black soldiers during the war. White soldiers had come to town and had got involved in fighting. The next day signs went up in the pubs proclaiming 'No Whites Here.'

"Later during my research I met a Marine general and he said his father had been to Carrickmore during the war and he relayed exactly the same story."

During next week's Mid Ulster Film Festival, which runs from May 4-6, Mary Pat will be conducting a free seminar on the Sunday afternoon at 2pm focusing on the challenges that women face in the film industry. Accompanying her on her visit to An Creagán will be Lorenzo DuFau whose experiences aboard the USS Mason during the Second World War proved central to the film itself.

"I am thrilled to bits to be able to take this movie to the Mid Ulster Film Festival," Mary Pat exclaimed this week. "I am delighted and really happy to have it shown somewhere so close to where we have strong family connections. And it brings it back to me because I fully understand how these seamen must have felt in light of the warm welcome I received when I first arrived in Carrickmore many years ago."

* The film 'Proud' will be screened in The Patrician in Carrickmore on Friday, May 4 at 2pm (for senior citizens) and as part of the Gala Opening Night on Friday, May 4 at An Creagan

* Tickets for the Mid Ulster Film Festival can be obtained from the venue or from Chez Manu in Omagh. Full festival pass (which includes entry to the launch night) £10. Feature films £3. Block of shorts £3

* Buses will run from Omagh to An Creagan throughout the festival, on the hour, every two hours. First bus leaving Omagh depot at 10am on the Saturday, returning from An Creagan at 11am

* To win free tickets to the Mid Ulster Film Festival just answer the following question: Name the USS Mason's crewman who will accompany Mary Pat Kelly to the Mid Ulster Film Festival. Answers to j.mccusker@ulsterherald.com

http://www.proudthemovie.com/