IFI Irish Film Archive
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26m 00s
Renewal - A Good Age: Episode 5
Renewal pays homage to people who have overcome ageism, confounded stereotypes and pursued new adventures in later years. Robert Greacen tells us how poetry and the creative arts greatly help him manage the aging process. Mamo McDonald recalls her experience of raising nine children, being widowed at forty; expanding her father-in-law’s drapery shop (which was used as a location in Neil Jordan’s The Butcher Boy (1997)); becoming Chairperson of Age & Opportunity and establishing a lace museum in Clones, Co Monaghan. A Good Age is a six-part television series, directed by Sé Merry Doyle, tackling head-on the myths and misconceptions that result in ageism. A forthright approach was taken throughout as the joys and realities of getting older are examined.
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21m 00s
Fathom
Fathom is a short documentary about the Fastnet Lighthouse, located on the most southerly point of Ireland off the coast of Cork. Weaving together a series of archival films, this documentary captures the majesty of the Fastnet Lighthouse, the intricacy of its construction and operation and the mighty power of the surrounding sea. Marrying vivid imagery with a spare and dialogue-free soundscape, this essayistic film considers solitude, meditation and the process of thinking, in this most isolated spot. Co-directed with Pat Collins, Sharon Whooley has noted that she was greatly inspired by the writings of James Joyce and Scottish poet Nan Shepard, whose works touched on the ideas of co-existing time frames and temporalities in conjunction with the significance of physical locations. This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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30m 00s
Hugh Leonard - Imprint: Writer in Profile
Hugh Leonard was a prolific Irish dramatist, television writer and essayist. In this episode, Leonard takes us through his childhood in Dalkey, Co. Dublin, writing his early plays and his influences from Lennox Robinson and Sean O’Casey, to ‘the greatest’ Samuel Beckett. He offers an in-depth look at his creative process, how ideas arise and whether his penchant for comedy has stopped him from being considered a serious writer. The differences between writing for theatre and film are explored in relation to the film adaptation of Da and writing the screenplay for Insurrection, RTÉ’s ground-breaking series about 1916. Imprint, a literature review programme, and its sister show Imprint: Writer in Profile screened on RTÉ1 for three seasons. Both were presented by Irish poet, writer and lecturer Theo Dorgan. Over the course of the Writer in Profile series Dorgan conducted extended, in-depth interviews with a wide range of Irish and international writers including Colm Tóibín, Bernard MacLaverty, Jennifer Johnston, Joseph O’Connor, Michael Longley, Doris Lessing, John Montague, Eavan Boland, Gore Vidal, Richard Ford and Margaret Atwood.
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26m 00s
Fighting Back - A Good Age: Episode 6
The last episode of A Good Age explores the media representation of senior citizens and of the ageing process. Mary Robinson outlines her support for the Senior Citizen’s Parliament and Proinsias De Rossa discusses the enormous contribution senior citizens can make to society. Several others explore the effects of consumerism on senior citizens and the potential to use advertising to promote a positive approach to the ageing process. Eilish Hardiman discusses the banning of the TV advertisement for Fujifilm that showed a senior couple kissing in a laundromat, and various senior citizens rail against a society that they perceive is throwing them on the scrap heap. A Good Age is a six-part television series, directed by Sé Merry Doyle, tackling head-on the myths and misconceptions that result in ageism. A forthright approach was taken throughout as the joys and realities of getting older are examined.
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1h 10m
Patrick Scott: Golden Boy
This Mermaid Films tribute documentary directed by Sé Merry Doyle explores the life and work of renowned Irish painter and architect Patrick Scott. Taking Scott’s major retrospective at the Hugh Lane Gallery in 2002 as a starting point, this lively account traces the artist’s childhood, his background in architecture and his many artistic achievements. Scott’s zest for life and humble reflections on the creative process accompany moving moments at home with his cat whilst working on his signature gold leaf paintings. A fascinating account of the 1950s bohemian art group the White Stag and contributions from Seamus Heaney, Stephen Pearce and Dorothy Walker enrich this celebration of the life and work of the ‘Golden Boy’ of Irish art. Patrick Scott: Golden Boy was produced by Maria Doyle Kennedy and Andrea Pitt, of Mermaid Films, and was commissioned by RTÉ Arts Lives. Patrick Scott was born in 1921 in Kilbrittain, Co Cork. He began his career as an architect where he worked with Michael Scott on CIE’s Busáras before committing to life as a full-time painter in the 1960s. He won a National Prize at the Guggenheim International Award in 1960 and represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale in the same year. His paintings have been exhibited worldwide and his work features in public and private collections.
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9m 04s
Up the Canal
This short film explores how the Grand Canal in Dublin has changed over the years. The voiceover provided by Irish novelist, short story writer and humourist John D. Sheridan, notes how methods of transport have changed and how fewer boats and barges now use the waterway. The aural memories are illustrated by poetic footage of the canal in the 1960s. The director, Margaret Currivan, won first prize for Up the Canal in the 'Film Shows Cup’ at the 1961 Dublin Amateur Cine Society competition (a competition predominantly entered by male filmmakers at the time). Margaret Currivan (b. 1923) was an avid amateur filmmaker, most prolific from 1954 to 1966. Currivan had a keen interest in photography and co-owned Currivan's Photographic Services in Dublin with her husband, Patrick Joseph (PJ). The shop processed and sold film, projectors, cameras and equipment and the filmmaker would, therefore, have had access to equipment, supplies and quick processing. Her films chronicle the story of her family, PJ and children Helen, Dan, and Paddy, engaged in key events including birthdays, Christmases and holidays. Currivan sometimes appears in her films, alluding to partial recording made by PJ. However, the shots are few and authorship is retained by Currivan who is noted to have also meticulously edited her films using a manual reel-to-reel device and splicer.