GIVING A VOICE TO OTHERS
MARGARET RODDY SPEAKS TO LOCAL FILM-MAKER CARA HOLMES AS SHE LOOKS FORWARD TO THE NEW YEAR’S DAY SCREENING OF HER NEW DOCUMENTARY
I DID ANYTHING I COULD GET MY HANDS ON AND I DO A LOT OF EXPERIMENTAL FILM-MAKING
BLACKROCK native Cara Holmes is fiercely passionate about her work as a documentary film maker. She loves that she can give a voice to others, to the often unheard, through her work. A perfect example of this work is the film ‘ Leaving Limbo’ about two teenagers who grew up as asylum seekers as they prepare to sit the Leaving Cert examination, which is being screened on RTE 1 on New Year’s Day.
The film was produced by co-director and producer Maurice O’Brien, who has made films for UNICEF.
It follows the story of Natasha Maimba and Minahil Sarfraz who had been featured in a radio documentary in 2014 about children living in direct provision.
They came to Ireland as children, from Zimbabwe and Pakistan, and became close friends while living with their mothers and siblings in the direct provision centre in Athlone. Both have since been granted their legal status in Ireland and have been serving with UNICEF as ambassadors for child refugees around the world.
The teenagers had become best friends and kept in touch when they left direct provision. The film follows them as they prepared to sit their Leaving Certs this June and shows how they have not only overcome the obstacles of their past, but are working to change the world through their role as UNICEF ambassadors.
Cara is justly proud of the film which sheds a light on what it is like to live as a young asylum seeker in Ireland and what it is like ‘ being Irish’ when your parents come from a different country.
Having initially studied science in Galway, Cara quickly realised that life as a biochemist was not for her and soon began pursuing a career in film making.
She worked in the famous Windmill Lane Studios where she honed her skills in post-production and film editing before working as a freelance, making films and music videos and promos. ‘I did anything I could get my hands on and I do a lot of experimental film making,’ she says.
Cara set up ‘Holmes-Made Films’ in 2014 to create socially aware films and documentaries that make you think. She has been commissioned to make short films for NGOs (Non- Governmental Organisations), charities and community groups.
She has worked on a number of award winning short films and documentaries including ‘ Five Letters to the Stranger Who Will Dissect My Brain’ for the Arts Council as well as ‘Lost in France’ for The Irish Film Board and Creative Scotland; the documentary ‘In League with Gaddafi’ for RTE and ‘ Jump Girls’ for TG4.
Her documentary ‘Queen of the Plough’ won best short documentary at the Galway Film Fleadh in 2015 while her Screen Ireland funded documentary ‘ Welcome To A White Bright Limbo’ about dancer and choreographer Oona Doherty has just premiered at this year’s Cork Film festival. ‘ Oona is fiercely talented and I’m really proud of the film. It’s one I’ve always wanted to make,’ says Cara.
Closer to home, she has worked with Encore Productions / RehabCare on the documentary ‘Drama Darlings’, which has been screened at a number of film festivals.
It was a project which was close to her heart, as her brother Gavin, who has Down Syndrome, is a member of Encore Productions.
‘ They write and produce their own productions which gives them a great platform to show their talent and imagination,’ she says.
This is in keeping with her own mission of ‘giving people a voice, giving a voice to those who aren’t out there, to those we aren’t hearing from.’
Cara has worked on a local history project with Larry Magnier in Blackrock which has received funding from the Blackrock Film
Festival and the local arts office. ‘We were looking for old films and videos of Blackrock which people might have in their attics so that we could get a sense of the village in the past,’ she explains.
A past pupil of Blackrock NS and St Louis, Cara is still a regular visitor to the village.
* Leaving Limbo will be shown on RTE 1 on New Year’s Day at 6.30pm.