Is it even possible to not love a film with Bill Nighy? Well, no! In this beautiful, sweeping and life-affirming adventure that celebrates the human spirit, 500 Miles follows a broken family that must come together when two young boys, Charlie and Finn, run away from home in England to reach their beloved but estranged grandfather (Nighy) on the west coast of Ireland.

Perched on the edge of the Brunswick River estuary, binoculars poised, Jan and I are searching for beach-nesting birds. It’s a magnificent morning in early spring and these birds are starting to build their nest scrapes in the sand.

The arts are an essential industry. We need artists as much as we need accountants. We need dancers as much as we need doctors. We need comedians as much as we need civil engineers. We need filmmakers as much as we need financial planners. We need musicians as much as we need ministers.