Directed by Colm Quinn, the film which was showcased at selected Omniplex cinemas yesterday, follows the late reporter as he "battles the debilitating effects of MND while trying to break one final story in the time he has left".
Ransom 79 is based on a true story which has been kept secret for 40 years, which saw a criminal gang attempt to extort millions out of the Irish Government. The film features Morgan C. Jones, Ray Weafer, and Rob McCarthy.
An official description for Ransom 79 reads the following:
"Legendary Irish reporter Charlie Bird is determined to break one final story before his life is cut short by Motor Neurone Disease".
"Charlie's sources have given him an extraordinary true crime story, one that had remained secret for decades - the attempt by a criminal gang to extort millions from the Irish government".
"The disease has already taken Charlie's voice. But clever use of technology means he can still do interviews - using a voice app on his ipad - and, even as his strength falters, he keeps chasing the story.
"Ransom '79 charts Charlie’s investigation and reconstructs a scarcely-believable sequence of events that led from farce to tragedy, in a very different Ireland.
"But beneath it all, the film is an exploration of how one man confronting his own mortality can find respite in doing the thing he loves, even in the most terrible of circumstances."
