Laura Devereux
The Lacey Way - Producer
Seventeen-year-old weirdo, George Lacey, is the first of the hermetic Laceys to go a disco, awakening nine-year-old little sister Jude to a world outside of the Lacey walls.
My Poor Boy - Editor
When Eli is betrayed by his only friends, he must turn to his imaginary mentor and 80's wrestling superstar, Ray Violence, for advice on how to get his revenge...
Seventeen-year-old George Lacey does not fit in. She’s a weirdo amongst her conforming peers and a conformist amongst her weirdo family. Only the cows are kind to her.
The real world calls to George. Tonight she answers. She goes to her first disco. She wears her first face of make-up. She steps into the real world for the first time. Her family does not let her go easy. George must come head to head with the world her family has taught her nothing about, the world that she hasn’t been taught to survive.
As a producer, The Lacey Way was a very exciting script to undertake. With a large principal cast, half of them being children, featuring cows, and a bonfire. Producing this film has allowed me to push myself and develop my skills in all aspects of production.
The world of the Lacey Way is enchanting and tangible, full of wild children with fiercely eccentric childhoods, but the dark edges rise to suffocate them in this magical, devastating short.
Eli lives a lonely life in rural Ireland, spending his days failing to become famous, but when a private video leaks online, Eli becomes the target of ridicule by a community he thought were fans.
Traumatised, he turns to his imaginary friend, Ray Violence, and in turn, leads Eli toward brutal revenge. Between a failing father and imaginary friend who promises retribution, Eli is pulled between two ideas of masculinity.
As an editor, I had the privilege of helping this unique script move onto the screen, distilling a 32 minute assembly into 14 minutes. The film starts out fun and irreverent, full of 80s themed zooms and fades, but descends into a tragic story of online abuse and revenge.
In depressing rural Leitrim, Eli's personal online world is electric and punchy, until wrestling star Ray Violence inspires him to give anyone who wronged him a "revenge fuelled pounding".
In her thesis, Laura explores the historically limited representation of LGBT+ characters and stories in Irish films. She draws connections between the recent increase in LGBT+ themes and treatment of characters, and the cultural change in the Irish public's attitude towards the LGBT+ community. From our country's history of censorship, homophobia and Catholic influence on all aspects of life, to a progressive culture of inclusion, this thesis explores how the Irish LGBT+ experience has been translated into film, and how these films have further broken down barriers in our society.
Laura Devereux is a 22 year old producer and editor from Wicklow. The Lacey Way is Laura’s graduating project as a producer, and My Poor Boy is her major editing project. She’s produced and edited numerous other short films during her time at the National Film School, as well as taking on various other roles in production. This year Laura was nominated for a student Royal Television Award for best editing for God Save Us All, a third year drama. In 2025 Laura produced Wildflower Wake, with funding from Creative Cavan. Laura is drawn to projects with a strong voice, striking imagery and guttural emotions. She takes interest in stories about subcultures and the experience of youth in Ireland.
