Film featuring former Cork city tax office to screen in Cobh

A CORK movie featuring the former tax office is set to be screened in Cobh five years on from its demolition.

Natasha Burke, who grew up in Cobh, said she is delighted to be showcasing her feature film, ‘Concrete Keys’, in the Sirius Arts Centre, given her childhood links to the area.

The two-hour film, to be screened from 7pm this Saturday, depicts what Natasha describes as a “strange and familiar parallel universe evoking the tragically poignant comic structures and absurd rituals of institution in an ever-changing world.”

It was primarily shot at the former Cork Tax Office and FÁS building in the last month before its doors were closed.

The building was temporarily repurposed as an artistic hub serving students of the Crawford Art College, as well as artists from collectives Sample Studios, Film in Cork and 4th Floor Studios.

Natasha was among 80 artists to have worked in the former FÁS building and Tax office on Sullivan’s Quay after it was left vacant. The premises served as a stop-gap for artists while developers BAM fought an appeal against planning permission for a 220-bed hotel on the site.

It also became a temporary home for visual artists such as filmmakers and members of the performing arts community between 2016 and 2017.

Natasha expressed her gratitude to director of Sirius Arts Centre, Miguel Amado, for giving her the opportunity to screen the movie.

“I’m really grateful to Miguel for screening the film given the personal links I have to the building both historically and within my own lifetime,” she said.

 “I’ve applied to have my work displayed there in the past and am delighted the director was so taken by the film he decided to air it. This will be an experiment because it was made for cinema and now it’s going to have a new life.”

For more information on the event check out the Sirius Arts Centre Facebook page.