International Documentary Film Festival
March 30 - April 6, 2025
Kaptol Boutique Cinema, Zagreb

I'm Carrie Jade Williams!

Ronan Kelly

I'm Carrie Jade Williams!

In 2021, a 32-year-old English woman approached us with a heartbreaking story. She was dying from a terminal illness. But she thought she might have a lifeline through life saving brain surgery, and she'd like us to record her final hope. Samantha Cookes is a young woman who has spent much of her life pretending to be someone she's not. We're just one of many people she's fooled. She finds her victims right across Ireland and the UK. And, despite several convictions and being unmasked many times, she shows no sign of stopping. This is a podcast about uncovering the truth, getting justice for victims and the chaos left in the wake of a serial scammer. In other words, it' s a podcast within a podcast, a modern audio meta-drama.

 

 

Ireland 2024, '29

DIRECTOR: Ronan Kelly

SCENARIO: Ronan Kelly

MUSIC: Fergal O'Connor

PRODUCERS: Liam O'Brien

Ronan Kelly

Ronan Kelly has worked in RTE since 1987. Prior to that he worked in CNN, Channel 13 in New York and as a commercial video producer. He began in RTÉ TV as a presenter/reporter in health and environment programmes and then became a radio producer in 1990. He originally produced daytime Radio 1 programmes: Gay Byrne ShowToday with Pat KennyLivelineFive Seven LiveMarian Finucane. He also worked on new projects for RTÉ Radio: the computerisation of radio production and output (2000) and designing and launching the digital radio station, RTÉ Choice (now Radio 1 Extra) in 2007.

He has taught feature radio production in Dublin City University and has been a guest lecturer in IT Tallaght, Griffith College, NUU, Coleraine, BBC Northern Ireland, Goldsmiths College, London and at the Salt Institute, Portland, Maine, USA. Since 2011, Ronan has worked full-time with Documentary On One including producing the short documentary series, The Curious Ear (now discontinued). Ronan has also worked with RTÉ television, recording voice-overs for TV documentaries and as a video journalist for 'Nationwide'.

In his spare time, he also produces an online video channel of short travel documentaries, Ronan Kelly's Ireland. He has presented/produced RTÉ Radio's weekly compilation programme, Playback. Currently, Ronan presents It Says In The Papers on RTE's morning news programme, Morning Ireland.

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