Ireland's
cinematic history is one of resilience, poetry, and profound
transformation. Journey Through Irish Cinema explores the themes of
identity, land, and language that have shaped its national output. Featuring a
mix of landmark dramas, biting comedies, and breath-taking documentaries, this
season invites you to rediscover the films that made Ireland and the
new voices making waves worldwide.
This screening is presented in association with the Irish Film Institute’s IFI International Programme supported by Culture Ireland.
John Ford:
Dreaming the Quiet Man
This film
includes interviews with aficionados of Ford like, Martin, Scorsese, Peter
Bogdanovicz, Jim Sheridan, William Dowling, Joe McBride and narrated by
Gabriel Byrne. There is mesmeric archive and rare photographs of the making of
the film. The main location of the documentary is Ford's ancestral homeland of
Connemara, on the west coast of Ireland, where his parents were born.
We meet Ford's cousins, the Feeney's who tell the story of Ford's parents
departure from Ireland after the Great Famine and the young Ford's return to
Ireland in 1922 to visit his cousins the Thorntons and saw their house being
burned down by the infamous Black and Tans. Ford, under the pre-tense of
scouting locations for a movie, gave money to the IRA. We travel to Portland
Maine where Ford grew up and went on to become a director in the first bloom of
Hollywood. The boy made it good but Ireland was always on his mind.
The screening
will be followed by a Q&A with the Director S? Merry Doyle, who will be
interviewed by Irish Film Reviewer and Irish Film Curator, Steve Martin.
