Cork creatives shine in Dublin film festival

THE curtain goes up on the 23rd Dublin International Film Festival on February 22, and this year’s line-up includes several films with Cork connections.

They include the eagerly-awaited That They May Face The Rising Sun, directed by award-winning West Cork director Pat Collins. An adaptation of John McGahren’s book starring Barry Ward and Anna Bederke, it focuses on rural life in 1970s Ireland.

Swing Bout is set in the boxing world and was filmed entirely at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

It follows a young boxer who unintentionally gets caught up in corruption by her shady promoters. The film stars Sinead O’Riordan, who also produces, and several familiar Cork faces.

Two For The Road is written and directed by Cork city film-maker Lochlainn McKenna. Inspired by McKenna’s childhood, it follows ten-year-old Oscar as he goes on a road trip with his father. What seems a playful outing becomes much darker when we learn that Oscar’s father has a problem with alcohol.

The film is an adaptation of McKenna’s short story, Guinness & Coke, which won the RTÉ Francis McManus Short Story prize.

Yellow Belt is co-written and directed by Allyn Quigley and filmed in East Cork. Quigley won Best Short Director at last year’s Cork International Film Festival.

The film follows a young boy grappling with his parents’ separation, falling in love for the first time, and learning hard life lessons. Quigley says he had a wonderful time filming in East Cork.

We had an amazing amount of community support, gorgeous locations and local talent at our disposal. I’m absolutely delighted to be bringing Yellow Belt to the Dublin International Film Festival, an incredible festival that goes from strength to strength every single year.

“The staff at DIFF always go above and beyond to make their film-makers feel like a vital part of the festival, and this year has been no exception so far.”

Never Kill A Femboy On The First Date tells the story of an Asian-Irish cross-dresser and a closeted GAA player whose one-night stand turns perilous when voyeurs see them together.

The short is directed by Oonagh Kearney, from Ballintemple, who has previously directed the RTÉ black comedy Obituary.

Never Kill A Femboy On The First Date was commissioned as part of Virgin Media Discovers and written by Lee-Loi Chieng.

Kearney says: “It was a joy working with this team and our wonderfully dedicated cast and crew. This is the first short film for several of our cast, including our lead Hansun Lamb, and I’m very much looking forward to sharing their immense talent with our first live audience before it airs on Virgin Media One on March 1.”

Colin Hickey was born and raised in Ballincollig and moved to West Cork 14 years ago. The location plays a big part in his latest feature, Perennial Light, a film about the cycle of life as it follows a young boy dealing with a tragedy.

The film is shot in black and white, has no dialogue, and mixes animation with live action.

“When I started the film, there was no structure as such,” said Hickey. 

I had the concept of intrusive thoughts, and I began with the animation first to reflect the character’s inner thoughts.

“We journey from birth to death, so the initial part of the film explores thoughts and feelings in childhood with quite simple animation.”

Filming the actors was a family affair, says Hickey. “I used my nephews and nieces, which was great because we didn’t have time constraints as they were freely available. Most of the other actors are friends, family and neighbours, so again, we had more time to film and more flexibility than you normally would.”

Hickey shot the film over two years and says he has freedom because he is a one-person set-up.

“I direct, shoot, and edit all my work. I could take as much time as needed and hop out of the car and start filming if something jumped out at me. I work as a wedding videographer, so I am always on the road up and down the county, particularly West Cork. There is always the potential to film something.”

Laura Seward was born in the U.S to a Cork family and has spent much of her life in Schull. She is a cinematographer, and her latest film, Midnight Rising, is a short documentary that looks at London’s East and South-East Asian clubbing community and examines the friendships and allyships found there.

The short is directed by Aileen Ye, an award-winning Irish-Chinese director. Seward was quick to jump on board when she heard about the film.

“Aileen reached out to me via email and said she wanted to make this documentary. We jumped on a phone call, and I instantly thought she was great. Aileen is very collaborative, and we have similar tastes. 

I love working in mixed media, and so does she. We are both fans of shooting on 16mm, so she immediately agreed when I suggested using it.

16mm is much loved by filmmakers but is more expensive to use than digital cameras.

Seward explains her love for it. “16 mm is the reason I fell in love with the idea of being a cinematographer. At film school, the first thing we were taught was how to load 16mm, and I loved the feel and sound of the film going through the camera. I love the look you get when you film with it. It gives Midnight Rising a grit. Film naturally looks so much better than digital without even trying.”

As Cork’s filmmaking community continues to excel, Seward says she believes its success is down to its people.

“I could say it is the landscape which inspires. Cork is a beautiful county, but it’s the people themselves. There is a magic in Cork people, a spirit that lends itself to creativity.”