Strong line up of Irish documentaries this week at the Galway Film Fleadh
Audiences interested in seeing films which deal with real people and real events won't be disappointed at this year's Galway Film Fleadh. The line up of documentary titles at this year's Fleadh remains as strong as previous years and includes five titles funded by Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB) revealing stories of isolation, motivation, ritual, reflection and survival.
In 1948 the South African government passed a law segregating blacks and whites known as apartheid. Nearly forty years later, Mary Manning, a 21 year old checkout girl at Dunnes Stores in Henry Street in Dublin, refused to register the sale of two Outspan grapefruits under a directive from her union in support of the anti-apartheid struggle. Blood Fruit tells the story of how, because of this action, Mary and 10 other workers who supported her refusal to sell the grapefruit were suspended with immediate effect and so a strike ensued brining the arrival of Nimrod Sejake whose influence on the strikers and their struggle to bring about change proved to be the central turning point in their motivation for not only continuing the strike but advancing it onto the international stage. This film which tells a pivotal moment in history was written and directed by Sineád O'Brien and produced by Noel Pearson.
The Stranger paints a portrait of Neal McGregor, an English artist, died alone, prematurely, aged forty four, in a stone hen-house that he couldn't stand up in, where he lived without water, electricity or heating on a remote Irish-speaking island. Neal left behind volumes of beautifully illustrated notebooks and secret diaries and this beautiful enigmatic film pulls together the jigsaw of missing pieces and paints a portrait of a man living on the edge, physically and mentally and the insular island community he lived amongst. Directed by Neasa Ní Chianáin this sensitive film was produced by David Rane for Soilsiú Films.
Glasnevin Cemetary, the final resting place of 1.5 million souls is the subject of One Million Dubliners and reveals the often unspoken stories of ritual, emotion, history, and the business of death. But this film is very much about life: the Saint Valentine's rush in the florists, American visitors searching for ancestors, earthy gravediggers and musicians in celebration; above all, it's the story of an immensely engaging tour guide shepherding his charges - and us - through the headstones and monuments; it's a documentary film that offers a glimpse into the unknown, a world that we will all come to share. This emotive and affecting film was directed by Aoife Kelleher and produced by Rachel Lysaght for Underground Films.
Living in a Coded Land, an original idea by Dr Patrick J O'Connor is a poetic and imaginative film essay that makes unexpected links between events and locations, history and contemporary life. The film, directed by Pat Collins revolves around the notion of a sense of place and stories associated with place, reflecting on the subterranean traces of the past in the present and probing themes such as the impact of colonialism, emigration, the famine, land, housing and the place of art in society. Produced by Pat Collins and Sharon Whooley for Harvest Films the filmmakers make extensive use of archive from RTÉ and the IFI, the film seeks to explore the more elusive layers of meaning that make up this country.
Written, directed and produced by Tommy Pallotta and Femke Wolting Last Hijack is a true tale of survival in Somalia told from the pirate's perspective. Combining animation with documentary storytelling, the film takes an innovative hybrid approach to explore how one Somali pirate Mohamed came to live such a brutal and dangerous existence. The film was co-produced by Irish company Still Films.
Screening times and venues for these thought provoking and insightful documentaries can be found at www.galwayfilmfleadh.com