In this candid and wide-ranging interview, award-winning filmmaker Alison Millar reflects on her early life on a pig farm near Ballymena and how those formative rural experiences shaped her worldview and storytelling instincts. With warmth and humour, she recalls gathering spuds, listening to farmers’ tales and finding inspiration in the rhythms of country life – echoes she would later recognise in the poetry of Seamus Heaney.

She speaks about the influence of a much-loved school art teacher, the value of creative freedom, and the early stirrings of a filmmaking career that would go on to engage with complex and often difficult subjects. The conversation opens into a broader discussion of her working method and approach, touching on key works such as her 1998 documentary The Father, the Son and the Housekeeper, which examined the life of Ireland’s “Singing Priest” Father Michael Cleary, and Lyra (2022), a powerful exploration of the life and legacy of journalist Lyra McKee. Throughout, Millar offers a thoughtful reflection on her career, her philosophy and the role of storytelling in confronting truth.