IFI Irish Film Archive

The Interview - The Roy Spence Collection

Year1981 Duration8m 31s ProducerGothic Films

Rosemary Wilson leaves home one morning for a very important interview, but finds her car has a flat tyre. Luckily ‘a friend’ of her husband spots her dilemma and offers her a lift. After a series of setbacks they reach the Town Hall, 15 minutes late. Here, Rosemary discovers that the fact that the job has already been appointed isn’t the only shock that awaits her. Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years Roy has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

This loving crafted short documentary follows the work of Tommy Orr of Killinchy, Co. Down, who has carried on the family tradition as a blacksmith for over 40 years. From the ringing of the anvil to the smoke billowing from the roadside forge, this film focuses on his work as a farrier and shows not only the unique skill that’s required but his genuine love and pride in his work. Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

24m 39s

The Testament of Caleb Meeke - The Roy Spence Collection

Julien Meeke is left an old mansion in his uncle’s will, but soon realises that what he inherited is something much more sinister. Mysterious witchcraft rituals and visions of demons, darkness and death make this one of Spence’s more devilish depictions of the occult. Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

21m 30s

Keep Watching the Skies - The Roy Spence Collection

Inspired by the American Horror films from the late 1950s, in a remote American lake a fisherman dislodges a canister which has been jettisoned from a flying saucer. A teenager and his girlfriend manage to convince the police of the existence of an all-consuming creature that has emerged from the canister, but it’s not long before all hell breaks loose and the creature from space consumes everything in its path. Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years Roy has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

10m 43s

Dots, Whips and Cobwebs - The Roy Spence Collection

This film looks at the work of three prominent lace makers in Carrickmacross, Northern Ireland in the 1980s. Mary Wilson, Mary McMahon and Rose Feeney show various intricate lacework techniques that were inspired by their natural surroundings, as well as teaching us the history and language of lace through detailed demonstrations, all captured beautifully in this film by Roy Spence for the Ulster Folk Museum. Although the popularity of lacework has declined in recent years, the Ulster Folk Museum continues to preserve these disappearing traditions for future generations. Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

7m 18s

Bending the Sally - The Roy Spence Collection

In this documentary by Roy Spence, willow weaver Alison Fitzgerald takes the viewer through the labour intensive process of weaving a ciseog from willow rods, from her workshop Greenwood Baskets in Loughgall. A ciseog is a type of basket that is traditionally used for straining potatoes. From the cutting of the willow rods to the intricate weaving of the sally rods, we are treated to a brief history of a craft and tradition that’s admired all over the world. Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.

24m 51s

The Magic Man - The Roy Spence Collection

Winner of the World Amateur Film of the Year, The Magic Man stars Rowel Friers (Artist and Political Cartoonist) as Mesmero, a magician who tours with his wife around remote villages with their magic and mind-reading act. When three local thugs convince themselves that the magic man will reveal their crimes to the police, they hatch a plan to steal his mind-reading glasses. However, things go awry and the brutes get more than they bargained for. Roy Spence is an award-winning amateur filmmaker. For the past 50 years, Spence has been making and screening a series of remarkable and sometimes eccentric films in his cinema in Comber, Co. Down. The films span many genres from sci-fi to horror to folk-life documentaries shot between 1965 and 1986. His collection of over 40 films (13 documentaries/non-fiction and 29 fiction feature films) is held and preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive.