Film Ireland Podcast FilmIreland

In this podcast, Gemma Creagh talks to Virpi Suutari, Director of Once Upon A Time In A Forest, which is screening at Docs Ireland (18 – 23 June 2024).

A modern fairy tale in the enchanting embrace of the Finnish forest makes its Irish premiere.

We witness young people seamlessly woven into the fabric of nature, swimming in crystalline lakes and revelling in the calm presence of the ancient trees. This idyllic harmony is imperilled as the forest faces man-made extinction. Driven by her love for the forest, 22-year-old Ida becomes the leader of the new Forest Movement, coming face to face with Finnish forest industry giants and confronting generational bias. Breathtaking visuals take viewers into the heart of the forest and the centre of the conflict. The film is a hopeful ode to nature and its protectors.

A film both peaceful and inspiring, it successfully evokes the complex feelings that are very common in a generation that is living with the heavy consequences of it’s ancestor’s actions.

Once Upon A Time In A Forest screens as part of the Maysles Brothers observational documentary competition on 20th June 2024 at Docs Ireland.


Tickets
https://queensfilmtheatre.com/Whats-On/Once-Upon-a-Time-in-a-Forest

See the full programme
https://docsireland.ie/programme/whats-on/

https://filmireland.net/

In this podcast, Gemma Creagh talks to Yousef Srouji about his film Three Promises, which is screening at Docs Ireland (18 - 23 June 2024).


While the Israeli army retaliates against the second intifada in the West Bank in the early 2000s, a mother films her family’s daily life, punctuated by time spent sheltering in the basement. Her son revisits this past, delivering a heart-breaking film that conveys the anguish of children and their parents who are forced to choose between safety and emotional upheaval.

The devastating and intimate film revolves around three critical moments when Suha negotiates her family’s safety with God amid the abandonment of dear friends, her son’s fleeting childhood, her daughter’s mistrust, and directly facing her own mortality.

Three Promises screens as part of a double bill alongside Between Two Crossings on 19th June 2024 at Docs Ireland.

Tickets
https://docsireland.ie/programme/whats-on/

https://filmireland.net/

Subscribe to the Film Ireland podcast on your favourite platform at. https://linktr.ee/filmireland

In this podcast, Gemma Creagh talks to Eleanor McSherry, a highly qualified Programme Coordinator/designer, researcher and lecturer with UCC (ACE). She lectures and gives workshops, in the areas of neurodiversity in the screen industry, autism studies, disability studies, mental health, film scriptwriting, creative writing, film and media. She is currently doing her PhD with in Maynooth University’s Media Department.

Check out the available courses here:

Diploma in Autism Studies: https://www.ucc.ie/en/ace-daus/
Cert in Continuing Professional Development in Advocacy: https://www.ucc.ie/en/ace-ccpdad/
Cert in Continuing Professional Development in Neurodiversity for the Screen Industry: https://www.ucc.ie/en/ace-ccpdns/
Cert in Continuing Professional Development in Neurodiversity in the Arts and Creative Industries: Sept 2024
Cert in Continuing Professional Development in Wellbeing Coordination (for the Arts and Creative Industries): Sept 2024
Cert in Continuing Professional Development in Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Sept 2024

https://filmireland.net/

In this episode of The DocArena Podcast, Ross Whitaker talks to Colm Quinn about his documentary Ransom ’79,

Ransom ’79 tells the story of legendary Irish reporter Charlie Bird and his determination to break one final story before his life is cut short by Motor Neurone Disease. Charlie’s sources have given him an extraordinary true crime story, one that had remained secret for decades – the attempt by a criminal gang to extort millions from the Irish government. The disease has already taken Charlie’s voice. But clever use of technology means he can still do interviews – using a voice app on his ipad – and, even as his strength falters, he keeps chasing the story.

Ransom ’79 charts Charlie’s investigation and reconstructs a scarcely-believable sequence of events that led from farce to tragedy, in a very different Ireland. But beneath it all, the film is an exploration of how one man confronting his own mortality can find respite in doing the thing he loves, even in the most terrible of circumstances.

Ransom ’79 is directed by Colm Quinn and is produced by John Kelleher and David Power with backing from Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, Coimisiún na Meán, Virgin Media, Derrin Group and S481.

In cinemas 24th May 2024.

https://filmireland.net/

Welcome to The DocArena Podcast in association with Film Ireland. My name is Ross Whitaker and every fortnight, I want to dig deeply into the motivations of documentary filmmakers – how do they choose their subject material and what approaches and strategies do they employ to fund, craft and distribute their work…

Delving into this story with families at the core, in this Film Ireland podcast, Gemma Creagh talks to Gary Lennon, Director of Piano Dreams.

There are currently 40 million piano students in China. With many practising up to ten hours a day, pianomania has truly gripped the nation. We follow three young hopefuls and their dedicated families as they chase their dreams in the ultra-competitive world of piano education. This is both an intimate portrait of remarkably talented young musicians and a glimpse into the lives of the new Chinese middle class: their aspirations, their sacrifices and their sheer drive to succeed.

In cinemas 24th May 2024.

https://filmireland.net/

Congratulations to Laura McGann and the team who worked on The Deepest Breath on their Emmy win! In this Film Ireland podcast, listen back as Gemma Creagh talks to Laura McGann about her powerful film.

The Deepest Breath follows champion freediver Alessia Zecchini, who fell in love with the sport as a child growing up in Italy, astounding coaches with her raw talent and determination in pool swims and open water contests before she was even old enough to legally compete. Irish adventurer turned expert safety diver Stephen Keenan, meanwhile, was raised near the sea, but as a young man he set out on a quest to find himself, traveling across Africa before landing in Dahab, Egypt and establishing a dive school. Despite their very different paths, the two would meet at the pinnacle of the competitive freediving world, discovering a shared passion for pushing their limits and forming a powerful relationship that felt like fate.

From Irish director Laura McGann, this thrilling documentary takes a look inside one of the most dangerous sports in the world, using everything from raw underwater dive footage to childhood home movies to chronicle Zecchini and Keenan’s lives and careers. The bond between them propels the film’s emotional journey into the stunning, silent depths of the ocean, a breathtaking place unseen by all but the fortunate few – where exhilarating accomplishments and unavoidable risks await.

The Deepest Breath is in cinemas from 14th July 2023 and is available to stream on Netflix now.