A coming of age story

This is a story about three friends who held secrets from each other. Jemser, Mickey and Eoin are all nineteen. They've lived on the same lousy housing estate in Dublin since they were kids.

One year ago today, Jemser's younger sister Saoirse (pronounced Seer-sha) died of an accidental drugs overdose. She was a charismatic teenager with a flamboyant eye and a gift for liberating the people around her. None of the friends has talked about Saoirse since she died. In fact, there's a lot they haven't talked about. Now it's her anniversary and the three decide to go on a camping weekend in the Dublin Mountains – despite the fact that none of them has the first clue about camping. What they don't know is that a major art robbery has taken place the same day. The robbers are on the run in the same area where the boys are planning to camp. I's a recipe for disaster.

As soon as it gets dark the boys lose their way and can't find where they pitched the tent. They wander through the pitch-blackness to a rural village, where they attempt to break into a shed for the night. An alarmed local fears the worst and summons the police. Immediately confusing the boys with the art robbers, the police and army begin an extensive search of the area. Used to being harassed by the cops, the boys do what they always do and run. As the night goes on, things get worse for the three – including a thunderstorm, a herd of cows with chronic diarrhoea and a policeman with a personal vendetta. But nothing could be worse than the secret that each of the boy carries: each believes that he alone is responsible for Saoirse's death. The pressure around them mounts and the boys find themselves finally telling each other the truth. As they piece together the night of Saoirse's death, they realise they are all responsible. Eoin reveals that Saoirse knew he was gay and he was frightened she might tell, so he didn't help her when he could have. Jemser reveals that he supplied Saoirse from his own stash of heroin. Mickey confesses that he and Saoirse were in a relationship, until he abandoned her on the night of her death. When they know the worst about each other, they can finally make peace with the spectre of their absent friend. They return from their hellish night on the mountain closer friends than before. Because Saoirse was never one for convention, their first job is to go to Saoirse's grave and replant the headstone at the opposite end.

• Format: TBC
• Budget: €2 million
• Genre: Coming of Age Story
• Partners in Place: Development money from Irish Film Board, application pending with MEDIA (Borderline Productions)
• Producers: Tom Maguire (Borderline Productions NI), Andreas Grünberg (Grünberg Film GmbH)
• Writer: Ed Dawson
• Director: Neasa Hardiman
• Cast: TBC