DIRECTOR PROUD OF CAILIN CARD FOR AS GAEILGE FLICKS
OSCAR-NOMINATED director Colm Bairead has told of his pride that An Cailin Ciuin has set a “precedent” for Irish language movies to achieve global success.
The film is the first Irish-language feature film to be nominated in the International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards, which take place on March 12.
Colm said the prestigious nomination and global recognition will hopefully inspire Irish filmmakers.
He told us: “Where there wasn’t before, there is now a precedent. Film makers can look to this film and say well you can make an Irish language film that can do well at the box office and it can travel the world and even get nominated for an Oscar in the international category. There is no reason why film makers shouldn’t aspire to that again.”
Colm told us the moment he found out about the Oscar nomination, saying he gathered cast and crew to the Stella Theatre in Rathmines in Dublin for the big moment.
“It was lovely. We watched it on the big screen live so it kind of turned into a bit of a party. It was a lovely way to mark the occasion.”
He said a day after the nominations were announced, Irish stars Michael Fassbender and Caitriona Balfe congratulated him on the nod.
“I got a lovely email from Michael Fassbender the day after the nomination.
“Catriona Balfe was in touch as well. They said ‘congratulations’, ‘amazing’, ‘fair play’.
“A lot of these people have been so helpful to us over the course of the campaign. They’ve been hosting screenings for us in LA and New York. We really feel so supported by the Irish in Hollywood as well.”
An Cailin Ciuin holds a special place personally for Colm and his wife, Cleona, who also produced the movie.
The couple are parents to two young children and said the movie means a “great deal” to them as a family.
“It’s hugely meaningful to me as somebody who was raised through the Irish language bilingually.
“My dad always spoke Irish and my mum spoke English. The Irish language has always been a part of me. I did all my schooling through Irish. Myself and my wife, Cleona, who is the producer of An Cailin Ciuin, we have two young kids. We raise them through Irish.
“So to us, it means a great deal because it’s not only our own thing but in a sense it is something we made for our own kids. It’s something we can look back on and hopefully other films will follow in our steps.
“Our kids are four and six. They are aware of the film but I think they have to grow up a little bit more before they can really engage with it.
“Having said that, whenever we’re in Tesco and we are going past the DVD aisle, our kids will point out ‘Oh An Cailin Ciuin’. They’re aware of it.”
An Cailin Ciuin will make its US debut on February 24, just under a month before Colm and Cleona travel to LA for the Oscars.