Film Ireland Podcast

InConversation in collaboration with Film Ireland examine in a recorded roundtable discussion the Internet’s impact on the film industry and cinema, from sourcing new talent, building a personal creative profile, raising funds and attracting audiences. A panel of industry workers - producer Marie Caffrey, casting director Thyrza Ging, MD of FilmBase Alan Fitzpatrick and IFI Public Relations Officer Patrick Stewart - discuss the challenges and opportunities that the Internet offers in their differing working lives.

The ninth Capital Irish Film Festival (5 - 8 February 2015) brought some of the best of contemporary Irish film to Washington D.C. This year's highlights included a screening of Frank, Niall Heery's Gold, Sinead fascinating documentary Blood Fruit and Keith Farrell's A Terrible Beauty. Adam McPartlan attended the festival in the first of a series of audio interviews he speaks to Paddy Meskell, Chairman of the Board of Solas Nua, a non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to contemporary Irish arts who run the Capital Irish Film Festival.

Donnchadh, Richard and Ruairí continue their efforts to escape from the basement by bringing you more film news, reviews and pleas for freedom. Donnchadh pitches a Back to the Future project based in 1950's Ireland, Ruairí ponders his role in The Gilmore Girls and Richard attempts to beam out of the basement - unsuccessfully. Tuxedos and stale bread were delivered down the shaft for their pre-Oscar chat, in which the lads fight over Birdman, make up over Foxcatcher, right the wrongs of American Sniper, and hail Whiplash. Plus Ex Machina, Into the Woods, Kingsman and Inherent Vice come under the verbal hammer and there's an interview with Irish writer/director Terry McMahon on the eve of the release of Patrick's Day.

This episode of InConversation features Nick Ryan, a producer and writer/director, whose work includes the award-winning documentary 'The Summit'. Nick is currently working on '6 Days of the Rising', based on the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland.

Coming from trio of directors Steven Benedict, Jennifer Shortall and and Lorna Fitzsimmons, 'Poison Pen' adapts Artemis Fowl-scribe Eoin Colfer's story to film. Made as part of Filmbase MSc in Filmmaking, 'Poison Pen' follows high-brow author PC Molloy as he becomes embroiled in a world of celebrity secrets and intrigue.

Richard Drumm delivers tins of dog food to Donnchadh and Ruairí in the basement and joins the lads for a look back at the year in film. Along the way they discuss movie news and cross swords over The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Will Richard survive...?

This episode of InConversation features writer, editor, producer and director, Shimmy Marcus, whose work to date includes the feature films 'Headrush' and 'Soulboy', alongside a number of short films and documentaries.

Donnchadh returns to the basement after his heavily subsidised holiday in the United States to find a malnourished Ruairí gnawing at the walls in order to stay alive. After feasting on a bucket of fish heads, the lads were able to talk film, bringing you the latest movie news, a smorgasboard of reviews including '71, Nightcrawler and Interstellar and an interview with the wonderful cinematographer Dick Pope, whose long-working relationship with Mike Leigh continues with the sumptuous Mr Turner. Sure what else would you be listening to.

Donal Foreman talks to Donnchadh Tiernan about his debut feature 'Out of Here', a contemporary coming-of-age story shedding Dublin and its youth culture in a light not previously seen or explored.

This episode of InConversation features Emer Reynolds, writer, director and IFTA-winning film editor. Emer has won IFTAs for Timbuktu (2003), her work on the opening series of Channel 4’s groundbreaking Shameless (2004) and My Brothers (2011). Emer's other feature credits include The Good Doctor, The Eclipse, The Actors, Small Engine Repair, and I Went Down. Most recently, Emer has worked on Terry McMahon's Patrick's Day and Aoife Kelleher's One Million Dubliners. Notable documentaries include The Asylum, ‘Today is Better Than Two Tomorrows and We Went to War. Emer has written and directed four short films: Slumber, Man, The Widow’s Son and White, and directed the RTÉ drama 6 part-series Trouble in Paradise. Here Was Cuba was her documentary directorial debut.

This episode of InConversation features composer Joseph Conlan. His film scores range from dark psychological thrillers to romantic comedies, from conventional orchestral arrangements to electronic and more experimental instrumentation. Among the notable film directors with whom Joe has collaborated are Tobe Hooper (Toolbox Murders), John Badham (Obsessed), Gregg Champion (The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn) and Thomas Bezucha (Big Eden). His most significant television series are NCIS, Simon & Simon, Tour of Duty and The Equalizer. Joe has received Emmy nominations for Miracle Run (Mary-Louise Parker, Zack Efron) and Mortal Sins (Christopher Reeve) and won both the Undgerground Film Festival for Best Score for No Justice and the Rome International Film Festival for Best Song for Finding Home (Genevieve Bujold, Louise Fletcher).

In this interview, Donnchadh Tiernan talks to Ross Whitaker, the Festival Programmer of the IFI Stranger Than Fiction Documentary Festival, which takes place September 25th – 28th. This year's festival includes the world premiere of Ciarín Scott’s In a House That Ceased to Be as well as premieres for other Irish films, including Blood Fruit, Showrunners and It Came from Connemara!!. The international programme includes Irish premieres of Steve James’ Life Itself about the film critic Roger Ebert, Kim Longinotto’s Love is All, Joe Berlinger’s Whitey: United States of America V. James J. Bulger, Andreas Johnsen’s Ai Weiwei – The Fake Case and Amir Amirani’s We Are Many. The festival also welcomes Amir, Kim and Andreas as guests to the festival, along with long-time Werner Herzog producer André Singer, who presents his new film Night Will Fall.

This episode of InConversation features Pauline Cotter and Helen Wells of The Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival (CFSFF), which takes place every year in the picturesque fishing village of Schull on the south-west coast of Ireland. The festival screens short films from all over the world and invites industry professionals to share their knowledge with visiting filmmakers. Pauline was educated in Cork and for many years worked in finance with a leading banking institution. She went on to work in insurance covering many aspects of business. Pauline is the Festival Fundraiser and Hospitality Manager. Helen worked for 17 years as Head of Private Client administration at London-based portfolio management company, Global Asset Management. She helped to set up the Film Festival in Schull with the other members of the Steering Committee in 2009. In September 2013 Helen became Festival Chairman.

Louise Kiely is one of Ireland’s leading casting directors. She graduated from University College Cork with a Degree in Law. Lousie then trained at The Gaiety School of Acting. She was an actor for a short period before setting up Louise Kiely Casting in 2005 and has since cast a number of up-and-coming Irish actors in successful films, including Jack Reynor in What Richard Did, the BBC series Quirke as well as the Irish casting on Ripper Street and The Sea.

Under the dominance of apes and shackled in the basement, Ruairí & Donnchadh return to talk True Detective and investigate other movie news; the lads mark each other's Irish homework (Breakfast on Pluto & Pilgrim Hill) and take a shwipe at schtuff in the shinema, including Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Begin Again and the game-changing Pudsey the Dog: The Movie. Both Ruari & Donnchadh were later used for scientific experiments by the apes which failed to yield any satisfactory results.

This episode of InConversation features Lenny Abrahamson. His first feature Adam & Paul (2004) was launched at the Berlin International Film Festival, Telluride and Galway among many prestigious film festivals. Garage (2007) was awarded the CICAE Award upon its presentation at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. The film also won awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Script and Best Actor at the 2008 Irish Film and Television Awards. Abrahamson has also directed for television - Prosperity, four one-hour TV films for RTÉ. What Richard Did (2012), his third feature, premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and was released to critical acclaim winning multiple awards in Ireland, best screenplay at the London Evening Standard awards, and best film at the Istanbul Film Festival. Frank (2014) had its world premiere in 2014 at the Sundance Film Festival. Abrahamson’s next project is the adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s hit novel Room.

This episode of InConversation features writer/director Terry McMahon, who made his feature debut with the hugely controversial Charlie Casanova. Winner of ‘Best First Feature’ at The Galway Film Fleadh, nominated for four Irish Film and Television Awards, and picked up for distribution by Studio Canal, Charlie Casanova broke the mould for Irish independent film. McMahon followed that up with Patrick’s Day, which had its world premiere at SXSW and his next feature, the scabrously black romantic comedy, Oliver Twisted is currently in development with The Irish Film Board and producer Tim Palmer. Awarded Best Director at Melbourne Underground Film Festival and winner of the RKO Pictures Hartley-Merrill International Screenwriting Award in Cannes, the Tiernan MacBride Screenwriting Award and nominated for The Irish Screenwriters and Playwrights Guild Award, McMahon has also lectured on screenwriting and acting in Trinity College Dublin, IADT, UCD, The John Huston Film School and The Casa del Cinema in Rome.

Ruairí & Donnchadh ride the dragon into the basement to do battle with Decepticons, bringing you some news along the way and compare and contrast homeworks (The Madness of King George & La Vie en Rose) and, of course, check out what's out now in a cinema near you, including How to Train Your Dragon 2, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Cold in July, The Golden Dream, Tammy.

InConversation chats to Nick Dunning, an actor and writer who attended RADA, where he won the Ronson Prize for Most Promising Young Actor. He is best known on screen for his role as Thomas Boleyn in The Tudors playing opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers, for which he won an IFTA award for Best Supporting Actor. He has also appeared in numerous popular British TV shows such as Waking the Dead, Kavanagh QC, Midsomer Murders and Quirke. His film work includes The Iron Lady (2011) and Fifty Dead Men Walking (2008), Alexander (2004) and In America (2002).

In this episode of the Film Ireland Podcast, Ruairí and Donnchadh shake their fists at the latest film news, delve deep into the underbelly of the latest films playing in your local picture house, review their homework ('Princess Mononoke' and 'Persepolis') and, due to good behaviour, Donnchadh is let out of the basement to nab an insightful interview with historian Stephen Ryan, knower of all things 'Jimmy Gralton', and get his views on Ken Loach's Jimmy's Hall.