For the one-hour film, director Hilary Fennell followed seven artists attempting to have their work accepted for Ireland’s most important open-call art show, the Royal Hibernian Academy Summer Exhibition. 

It was the first time cameras have been allowed behind the scenes at the 196-year-old Royal Hibernian Academy, including access to the judging process. The film was broadcast on RTÉ One in June 2019.

At the RoI event, “Behind the scenes of an arts documentary”, which was held at RTÉ Television Centre, Fennell and director of photography Steve O'Reilly discussed how they developed, financed and filmed the documentary. 

Fennell looked for artists with interesting stories to tell. The film’s subjects include a 92-year-old woman in Connemara who explains how print-making keeps her young, a sculptor in Dingle who makes art from recycled bicycle tyres and a former cannabis dealer who learnt to paint in prison.