Pat Collins Song of Granite Announced for Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Posted: 9th June 2017
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has announced its 2017 Out of Competition titles with Irish film, Song of Granite, included in the Official Selection.
The film, which portrays the life of the great traditional Irish singer, Joe Heaney, received its premiere at the prestigious SXSW festival where it was hailed by critics as a “stirring, solemn tribute” that is “quite perfectly made.”
Song of Granite sees the beautiful yet harsh Connemara landscape combined with the myths, fables and songs of Heaney's childhood that helped shape this complex and gifted character. The biopic, which was filmed on location in Galway, was produced by Alan Maher and Jessie Fisk of Marcie Films and Martin Paul-Hus at Amerique Films.
Enigmatic and complex, Joe Heaney was one of the greats of traditional Irish singing (sean nós). Shaped by the myths, fables, and songs of his upbringing in the west of Ireland, his emergence as a gifted artist came at a personal cost. Featuring performances from Colm Seoighe, Macdara Ó'Fátharta, Jaren Cerf, Lisa O'Neill, Damien Dempsey, and sean nós singers Micheál O'Confhaola and Pól Ó Ceannabháin, and beautiful black and white cinematography, Song of Granite is a distinct portrait of Heaney's life and a marvelous exploration of music and song.
Last month, the title was also announced for the Galway Film Fleadh which will take place in July.
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the Czech Republic and the most prestigious such festival in Central and Eastern Europe. The 2017 edition of the festival will take place from 30 June – 8 July.