Directors' Biographies

PAUL PENDER

(Co-Director)

Paul Pender was born in Dublin, Ireland. He lived most of his life in Dublin and spent some of his teenage years and early 20s living in County Kildare. While living there, he developed a deep love of Kildare and the great wit of its people. He worked as a professional musician, cabinet maker and bartender until he moved to the US in 1992 where he was a full time musician until 1999 when he opened his own Irish pub – The Old Dublin - in Wallingford, Connecticut. He played music at the pub often and ran a traditional Irish Session there for over 12 years. 

In 2013 he wrote his first play – a comedic drama called “Charlie Gorman’s Wake” set in a small country pub in County Kildare. The Old Dublin pub was used as the stage setting for the production of both the play and the film. Paul also played a part in the play as did the musicians from the Old Dublin Irish Session. He drew on his many years in the pub business and as a musician playing in pubs to write the characters in the play and the film. 

While rehearsals were in progress he started writing a film script based on the play. He enlisted the cast from the play – all experienced amateur stage actors – who were more than happy to be involved. He also enlisted as his co-director, Katie Santacroce, who played a part in the play and the same part in the film. 

The most important part of the filming to him was that the outdoor locations had to be filmed in Ireland. To fund the film he ran music nights, dinners at the pub, beer tastings, etc. He also received financial support from many friends who believed in the project. 

Paul Pender retired from the pub business in 2015 and worked on getting the film finished and works now as a realtor and musician. He lives in Connecticut with his wife Joanna and their four cats. This is his first film and he is presently working on the screenplay for a second film.

KATIE SANTACROCE

(Co-Director)

Katie (Morris) Santacroce, currently resides in Meriden, CT but grew up in West Haven, CT.   Once an extremely shy child, Katie first found her love of performing as an Irish Dancer when she was about 8 years old.   As a proud Irish-American, Katie quickly learned to appreciate Irish culture as she grew up around the dance, music, festivals and food of Ireland.

In 2005, just before graduating from West Haven High School, Katie decided to give acting a try, and she never looked back.  While earning her Bachelor's in Mass Communication from the University of New Haven, Katie continued her love and appreciation for performance as a founding member of a student theater company where she enjoyed acting, directing and producing.  When she wasn’t in the theater, Katie was in the studio collaborating with her peers as they made many student films.

After college, Katie continued on to become a founding member of Shoestring Theater Co., joined the Gaelic Players and The CT Irish Theatre Troupe when she happily joined the stage version of “Charlie Gorman’s Wake”.   After meeting Paul Pender, Katie knew co-directing the film would be an experience of a lifetime - and she was right. 

Currently, Katie is happily married to Jason Santacroce and is a proud mother to her daughter, Hailey and dog, Murphy.  When she’s not spending time with her family or working at Albertus Magnus College, Katie still loves performing with the local Irish theater companies and looks forward to more filming in the future.