'Alive Alive O- A Requiem for Dublin' selected for Doc Europa
The IFB funded documentary ‘Alive Alive O – A Requiem for Dublin ‘ has been officially selected as the Irish film to be screened at this year’s Doc Europa Festival in Lisbon, Portugal.
Apordoc, the Portuguese Documentary Association, is organizing Doc Europa, a programme for this year’s Europe Day (9th May) and will screen one film from each European country.
'Alive Alive O - A Requiem For Dublin' is a one-hour documentary directed by Sé Merry Doyle, journeying deep into the psyche of Dublin street traders and chronicles how an extraordinary culture becomes increasingly overshadowed by the scourge of heroin, the closing of marketplaces and a city that has sold its soul.
Originally broadcast on RTÉ in 2001, the film has received much critical acclaim and was recently screened by the IFI’s Irish Film Archive for a special evening to commemorate the political life of Tony Gregory who features in the film. He went to jail because of his support for the traders of Dublin's famed Moore Street. The film also explores the lasting impact of the closure of the famous Iveagh Market in the Liberties quarter of Dublin.
Shot in stages over many years, the documentary contains rare archive including glimpses of a young U2 as they play an inner-city benefit concert for a Sheriff Street audience. It is the portrayal of the staunch character and true-grit of the inner-city "Dub", the tragic nature of which is enhanced by the haunting narrative of poet Paula Meehan and the voice of Frank Harte as he sings some of Dublin's best known traditional ballads that lingers long in the mind.
The Doc Europa Festival takes place in Lisbon from the 8th - 10th May.