Derry filmmaker and director Danny Patrick has brought his latest project back to his roots, with his survivalist thriller ‘Hunting Party’ earning a nomination for Best Independent Film at the National Film Awards.

The film centres on a group of disillusioned judges who, frustrated by criminals repeatedly slipping through the justice system, manipulate court outcomes to set offenders free, only to later abduct them and hunt them across a sprawling private estate. The gritty storyline is filmed across Derry, Donegal and the north west.

Speaking to the Journal ahead of the awards, Danny said returning to Derry and Donegal to film is always a pleasure.

“I love filming in Derry because we get such good positive feedback,” he said. “We did some bits in Derry, we did stuff along the north coast and the estate is on Inch Island. We were able to get a lot of Derry and Donegal. I like to bring things home to Derry.”

placeholder image — Danny Patrick and Paul O'Doherty.

He added that Ireland remains an exciting and relatively untouched filming location. Danny said: “I do like to see familiar places. The big thing about Ireland is that it feels relatively untouched by filming, it’s an exciting location and place to film.”

Danny also praised the patience and support of local people, noting how much easier it is to film in Derry compared to larger cities. Including Da Vinci's Hotel where Danny and his filming crew often set up their greenscreen.

“The wonderful people of Derry don’t really mind,” he said, contrasting it with the challenges of filming in the busy streets of London.

A major part of Danny’s passion for returning to Derry is the home grown talent he finds here. “Derry people are naturally gifted actors,” he said. “It must be the storytelling ability that Irish people are gifted with. I love hearing my own accent on screen.”

Hunting Party nominated for best independent film.

He singled out Derry actor Paul O’Doherty, declaring him a wonderful actor and also a professional to work with.

The National Film Awards will take place on July 1, with voting closing on June 27. On the nomination, Danny said he and the team are “absolutely overjoyed and excited.”

“You don’t do it for awards, but the work is so incredibly hard that the fact we even got nominated by the National Film Awards is something that does make you smile,” he said. “We’re going to be in a room with other big hitters like Adolescence, Peaky Blinders, Hamnet, to even be amongst those as part of your peer group is something we can’t get enough of.”

Danny said he feels proud to see Derry represented on such a stage.

“It makes me proud that there is a little bit of Derry going to these awards, Derry rubbing shoulders with Peaky Blinders and Adolescence.”

Hunting Party is available to stream now on Amazon Prime.

Danny also extended his thanks to his talented cast and crew, of which there is too many to name in this article but you can find them on the Hunting Party page IMDB, here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29510495/

To vote for Hunting Party at the National Movie Awards: https://nationalfilmawards.co.uk/nominations-2026