Wicklow Film Festival back at the Mermaid
THE third Wicklow Film Festival takes place this weekend with a series of screenings and discussions at the Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray.
This year’s festival, which takes place from Friday, September 21, to Sunday, September 23, is a collaboration between the Mermaid and Braybased filmmaking collective, No WiFi (North Wicklow Films). Founding members of No WiFi, David Butler and Gerry Cannon, lead the selection of films under the theme of ‘Ireland, Past and Present’.
‘Like no other medium, the feature film has the power to take us right into the heart of an issue and to experience the full panoply of emotions involved, all within the space of an hourand-a-half!,’ said Mr Butler.
‘A film fails if it is simply a vehicle for a message. All the films curated here win us by their power to engage, to entertain and to provoke thought, and I’d heartily recommend them to anyone with an interest in our changing society.’
The festival is a part of Mermaid’s mission to promote the arts for all. According to the Mermaid’s Artistic Director Niamh O’Donnell, the glamour of the film industry can be distracting and allow people to forget the ‘intense power’ of film.
‘Film holds the possibility not just to transport us to other worlds but also to have an intensely transformative effect. Almost all of us have seen a film that fundamentally changed and altered our outlook and opinions. Films tell us a story, but it can be those stories that shed light on issues, narrate history, expose injustices and initiate social change,’ she said.
The festival kicks off on Friday with two screenings of The Breadwinner, at 11 a.m. for schools and 5 p.m. as part of Culture Night. The movie, based on Deborah Ellis’ award-winning novel, tells the extraordinary story of an eleven-year-old Afghan girl who finds strength in the love of her family and the power of storytelling.
At 7.30 p.m., there will be a screening of Michael Inside, followed by a post-film discussion with its director, Frank Berry. The film tells the tale of luckless 18-year-old Michael, who is misfortunate to be sent to prison. Vulnerable and alone, he is taken under the wing of a score-settling older prisoner (a quietly unhinged performance by Moe Dunford).
The Mermaid will host three screenings on Saturday, beginning with Citizen Lane at 2 p.m.
A multifaceted portrait of the art collector and gallery founder Sir Hugh Lane, this hybrid docu-drama boasts a standout performance from Tom Vaughan-Lawlor. Combining careful reconstructions with insightful observations from contributors Roy Foster, Paul Rouse and Morna O’Neill, the film Lane’s obsession with making his collection of impressionist painting accessible to every class of society. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the movie’s writer, Mark O’Halloran.
At 5 p.m., Shot in Wicklow will see short films shot entirely or partially in Co Wicklow hit the big screen. Among them will be Remains by writer/director Ian Campbell (featuring Niall Tóibín, who came out of retirement for this shoot) and Sinéad O’Loughlin’s Homecoming, which was featured earlier this year on RTE2’s Shortscreen series. The programme will also include some new work from NoWiFI.
The final event of the day will be Dublin Oldschool at 7.30 p.m., followed by a discussion with it’s director, Dave Tynan. The film tells the tale of wannabe DJ Jason (Emmet Kirwan) who fuels himself with drink and drugs ahead of a weekend of parties before bumping into his estranged, homeless brother Daniel (Ian Lloyd Anderson), a smart but troubled heroin addict. As they struggles to reconnect, Jason is forced to come to terms with the consequences of his own lifestyle.
The final screening of the festival is the powerful Philomena at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 23. The movie tells the true story of Philomena (Judi Dench), who has spent her life dreaming of the newborn son she was forced to give up for adoption as a young unmarried Irish woman. With the aid of a BBC reporter (Steve Coogan), she sets out on a quest for the truth which takes her to Ireland and America. Afterwards, there will be a post-film discussion with poet Annemarie Ní Churreáin.
No Wifi (North Wicklow Films) is a Bray-based collective of film-makers, actors and enthusiasts whose aim is to hone their skills at film-making. Founded in late 2016, they have made more than 30 films over the last 20 months.
For more information visit www.nowifi.ie