A DOCUMENTARY on the Ardara Distillery, the home of Sliabh Liag Distillers,will premiere at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh.

The film tells the moving story of founder James Doherty’s return to Donegal to reclaim a long-lost style of Irish whiskey-making.

Still He Waits, a feature-length documentary directed by Paul McGuckin will screen at the Pálás Cinema on Friday, July 11.

Originally invited to capture archival footage, Paul quickly saw the potential for a deeper narrative.

“What began as quiet observation grew into a powerful portrait of place, ambition, and ancestral memory” Paul said.

“The camera started rolling to capture history, but what emerged was a powerful emotional arc – a man returning to the home of his ancestors, not just to build a distillery, but to rebuild ties to a place and a way of life that had almost disappeared.

“It’s a film about memory, identity, and belonging; and a reminder that sometimes the road home is the longest, but the most meaningful,” he added.

Still He Waits tells the moving story of founder James Doherty’s return to Donegal to reclaim a long-lost style of Irish whiskey-making.

Shot over several years, the film follows James Doherty’s journey from Hong Kong back to Donegal, where he set out to reclaim a lost Irish whiskey tradition.

“This isn’t just a business story – it’s a story of return,” said James Doherty.

“It’s about going home. My parents, like so many others, left Donegal in search of work in England. This is about bringing something back. Something they, and generations before them, were forced to leave behind. It’s about reclaiming and honouring a heritage lost to time and exile, and shaping a future deeply rooted in the spirit of Donegal.”

Still He Waits is McGuckin’s first feature-length documentary, and a story that is both intimate and epic in scope. The Galway Film Fleadh is an Oscar-qualifying festival that selects just 80 films out of more than 4,000 submissions.

The film’s premiere comes just ahead of another major milestone for The Ardara Distillery: the launch of the Ardara Single Malt Irish Whiskey. A heavily peated, triple distilled, grain-in expression, the whiskey reclaims a distinctive Donegal tradition not seen in over a century. This unapologetically bold and smoky spirit mirrors the same sense of revival, place, and pride that lies at the heart of Still He Waits.

View the Galway Film Fleadh programme at galwayfilmfleadh.com. Find out more about The Ardara Distillery here: https:www.sliabhliagdistillers.com