Documentary Series on Irish Cinema, Muide Éire (We Are Ireland) opens the 56th Corona Cork International Film Festival
Muide Éire is a documentary film and series on the history of Ireland on Screen. From the horse drawn carriages of Dublin's yesteryear to the latest summer blockbuster, the project takes an intimate look at filmmaking in this country - as a visual expression of Irish culture, celebrating contemporary filmmakers, in both the Irish and English language.
On Sunday 6th November, the documentary will open the 56th Corona Cork International Film Festival. Director Cathal Watters is delighted that this project, 3 years in the making, has been awarded this distinction. "Opening Ireland's largest and longest running film festival is a real honour. For so many years Cork has played an important role in promoting and celebrating Irish audiovisual culture - our hope is that Muide Éire is seen very much as a part of this tradition, and celebration, into the future." Cathal Watters
From the glamour of red carpet interviews to behind-the-scenes 5am starts, Muide Éire invites the viewer into this world where art and industry exist in delicate balance. The heart of this documentary is our investigation into representations of Ireland and the Irish - how the Irish have been viewed abroad, and how we represent ourselves on screen. "There's an American fascination with all things Irish, but it always comes back to the size of the country, and the incredible creative output we've had. We are at our very core, a nation of storytellers." Colin Farrell
The documentary explores Irish film and TV history in a thematic, rather than chronological manner. Over 500 clips from over 200 titles illustrate a vibrant visual history, including MY LEFT FOOT, SEACHT, ADAM & PAUL, HIS & HERS, THE PIPE, CORP & ANAM, ROS NA RÚN, FAIR CITY, GLENROE, THE COMMITMENTS, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, INTO THE WEST, POITÍN, SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY and never-before-seen footage from behind the scenes on THE QUIET MAN.
1.Áit / Place looks at setting as source of story, the land as character, from the rugged Atlantic as 'true' Ireland, to the poverty and crime inspired storylines of our cities, to the new voices emerging from the Midlands and bogs of Ireland, and the fantasy four green fields. What stories are tied to the land, and where did they originate?
"'Garage' was about reclaiming something within me, and that was an understanding of Irish life. Any film that had been made in the Irish countryside had been made by Americans - and they'd always represented [it] as one big, fat joke, that we can all have a great old laugh at. And I'd lived in that joke and I didn't find it particularly funny." Mark O'Halloran, GARAGE
2.Duine / Character takes stereotype as a start point, looking at the common stock characters of Irish-set films, such as the Mammy, the Feisty Irish Colleen, the Sleveen & Gombeen and the Fightin' Drunken Man. Who are these characters and why are we drawn to them over and over again? Have they evolved? What are they saying to us and about us?
"I ran around the set in Ardmore to get winded, and came back and said the line, and Jim [Sheridan] said "It's too much - less". I must have said it fifty times - and he kept saying "Less, less, less". That was the line, "If I could give you my legs, I'd gladly take yours", and I think that's the line that got me the Oscar." Brenda Fricker, MY LEFT FOOT
3. Smacht / Control looks at the relationship between Church and society and the impact this relationship had on the screen. Questioning Censorship - what was cut and why - and how filmmaking developed side by side with a changing society. "Miley and Fidelma! That Miley would do something like [adultery] it'd be like Mother Theresa smoking a joint! It was just the worst thing ever... They got horrible hate mail." Mary McEvoy GLENROE
4. Cumhacht / Power examines the power of the screen on society. From post-Celtic Tiger tales to explorations of Northern Ireland's violent legacy, to TV documentaries uncovering abuses within the Church & State, we examine the Irish stories emerging onscreen. As the country opens up and reexamines its past, we look to the future, and ask who are the new Irish, and what do they have to say? "Films, documentaries that are seen, can actually change lives, change people's perspectives, open minds and help to move things in a different direction". Aidan Quinn
The Gala Premiere of Muide Éire at the Triskel Arts Centre, Cork on Sunday 6th November at 11am will be attended by director Cathal Watters, producer Rachel Lysaght and Contributors from the film and series.
The Muide Éire series is being broadcast on TG4 in a block of Irish documentary and feature film, and the season will run through January 11th, 18th, 25th and February 1st - Wednesday nights at 9:30pm.
Muide Éire is directed Cathal Watters, produced by Underground Films & Odyssey Media with funding from TG4, The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and with the participation of Bord Scannán na hEireann / the Irish Film Board. The film is produced under the Splanc! Scheme.