L-R: Lorcan Finnegan, Neasa Hardiman, Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor L-R: Lorcan Finnegan, Neasa Hardiman, Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor IRELAND REALLY LOVES the movies. According to a 2018 survey, we have the highest per capita visits to the cinema in the whole of the EU – 3.4 compared with the EU average of 1.7.
The festival brings not just international films to the big screen, but Irish films too – its opening gala this year was Vivarium, directed by Dubliner Lorcan Finnegan. This year, with the focus of the festival on female directors, older Irish films like Pat Murphy’s debut Ann Devlin were introduced to a new audience too.
My next one appears to be coming together quicker and we’re taking a different approach, so we’ll see! With regard to our film, Rose Plays Julie, we first pitched the idea at a meeting at the Galway Film Fleadh in 2013. The film then officially went into pre-production in April 2018 – so after nearly five years of development – and we then premiered the completed film in October 2019.
We think you have to be very tenacious. There will be many disappointments along the way. It can be a very bruising process and there are no guarantees at any stage. There are so many things that might result in a project failing to get over the finishing line. There are a lot of ducks to line up. If you have ever tried to line up ducks you will know that this is not easy. Ducks have a tendency to stray off.
Lorcan Finnegan: Yes, it is great! I’m particularly looking forward to seeing Kate Dolan’s horror film You’re Not My Mother which is being funded by Screen Ireland’s POV scheme. If we were to get specific, Ireland isn’t the cheapest country in which to make a film, and so budgets get stretched. That is a reality of the contemporary Irish landscape. It’s an expensive country. However, that can be compensated for by brilliant professionals working in the industry in Ireland, who are very well versed with working in Ireland and getting things done.
The playwright Maria Irene Fornés said that for her, “writing plays is not a way of earning a living but it is a way of earning a life”. We definitely concur with that thinking. Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor: Yes and no. There are a limited number of film festivals – Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Sundance, Toronto – that have markets attached to them and where films get bought and sold. Not all films can screen at these festivals.
Festivals can help a film on its journey but at the end of the day it’s what happens when a film is released that matters most. Neasa Hardiman: Yes.Lorcan Finnegan: I think Irish people are generally well liked and can adapt well to situations. We’re very well positioned right between Europe and the US and we speak English, so it’s certainly not a hindrance!
Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor: For us as filmmakers it is a fascinating part of the process. And very inspiring when one gets to see how much talent there is out there. However, it’s also a tough part of the job. For Rose Plays Julie we auditioned over 40 actresses for the role of Rose. That’s a lot of rejection you’re directly responsible for, but tough decisions have to be made and it’s part and parcel of the casting process.
Lorcan Finnegan: Screen Ireland are doing an amazing job but they could finance more features and shorts if they had more to spend! I’d also like to see some nicer cinemas in our cities and the national broadcaster supporting more original Irish film and TV.