Barbaric Genius to Screen in IFI
Paul Duane's Irish documentary Barbaric Genius will screen exclusively in the Irish Film Institute (IFI) from the 25th to the 29th of May.
Produced by Mary Carson and Paul Duane for Screenworks, Barbaric Genius is about the life of John Healy and tells the story of his journey from street mugger and wino to chess champion and award-winning author, and how a single act of violence brought him crashing down again.
In the early ‘90s, writer John Healy was everywhere, on TV, in papers, being interviewed, reviewed, profiled. Then John Healy disappeared. Stories emerged to fill the vacuum, dark stories that kept most from trying to find him. Now, after 16 years, he's about to make a comeback, launched once more on the world stage, with the likes of Irvine Walsh and Daniel Day-Lewis as his cheerleaders. But what happened to derail the most promising literary careers of the early '90s? And what happens to a man who has nothing, then everything, and then nothing again?
Paul Duane and John Healy will both attend the opening night screening at 7.20pm after which there will be a Q&A session. For further information or to purchase tickets please contact the IFI Box Office on 01 679 3477 or www.ifi.ie
Barbaric Genius is presented by Screenworks in association with Bord Scannán na hÉireann/ the Irish Film Board and RTÉ. Its cinema release has been supported by Bord Scannán na hÉireann/ the Irish Film Board.
"Physchotic axe-wielder or Literary Master - Who is John Healy?"
(The Journal)
"Bloody hell - That's quite a documentary"
(Film Ireland)