Over the past 4 years Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor have been working on a project called Civic Life. Civic Life involved local community groups in the production of nine high-quality short films for the cinema, shot on 35mm Cinemascope making extensive use of the long take. In 2004, their film Who Killed Brown Owl won the award for Best British Short Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. In January 2008 their latest short film Joy won the Prix UIP Rotterdam at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Helen is the culmination of the Civic Life series. —Visit Films