In his new film “The Fitzgerald Family Christmas” writer and director Ed Burns revisits his Irish  roots made famous with “The Brothers McMullen,” about an Irish family on Long Island, which launched his career 17 years ago. The film will be released in November.

In the past Burns has said, “I want to be an Irish-American version of Woody Allen.”

Burns got the idea for this film on a friend’s advice. He told The Toronto Sun in an interview during the Toronto Film Festival that while he was shooting “Alex Cross”, Tyler Perry asked him why he did not return to the success of his earlier films (“The Brothers McMullen” and “She’s the One”).

Following Perry’s suggestion he started writing.

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on 9th September and quickly earned praise from fans on Twitter.

In “The Fitzgerald Family Christmas” an estranged father comes home for Christmas 20 years after he walked out on his family. Arguments arise between the adult siblings and old wounds are revisited. Within all this, the opportunity for forgiveness and new hope appears for the family.

“The Fitzgerald Family Christmas” stars Johnny Solo, Marsha Dietlein, Kerry Bishe, Anita Gillette, Daniella Pineda, Michael McGlone, Ed Lauter, and Heather Burns. Burns himself also stars in the film.

Burns has been a busy man, working on “Alex Cross”, an action film also starring Matthew Fox as a homicidal hit man, which comes to the big screen next month and Burns is currently writing a sequel for “The Brothers McMullen”, which will come out for the original’s 20th anniversary in 2015.

Here’s a Q&A at TIFF with Ed Burns: