My Journal of the 2020 Cork International Film Festival…
Cork, Ireland, November 8 through 15
Jumping the queue (festival films seen and reviewed prior to the festival)
Ashes and Diamonds (Popiól i diament)
Irish Destiny
Thursday 12 November
Irish Shorts 1: Love & Friendship
Sadly, my film festival attendance has suffered in recent years. In my heyday I was known to show up at one, two or sometimes even three film festivals in a calendar year. That routine has since given way to family life and novel-writing. I have no regrets, but how could I not get nostalgic occasionally about those halcyon days in which I sat in cinemas for hours a day, day after day? In 2020 there are a lot of other people missing film festivals because they have been canceled or postponed because of the Covid‑19 pandemic. Such is the spirit of film lovers, though, that many have found a way to keep their festivals going the same way businesses and organizations have kept going—by moving online. The organizers of the 65th Cork International Film Festival had ambitious plans this year to put on a hybrid of live/public events and online screenings. Restrictions imposed by the Irish government in reaction to worsening pandemic numbers, however, required them to jettison the live/public part, but the virtual component has gone on. Watching a film festival in the comfort of one’s living room might seem ideal for someone like me, but the reality is that it is hard to commit large amounts of time to film watching at home, whether it is because of family distractions, other ongoing work or projects, or maybe you’re trying your darnedest to get past chapter two of your sixth novel. Anyway, the Missus and I did take an evening out to watch one of the festival’s shorts programs, and it was a happy experience. The quality of the streaming was quite good—much better than the sorry catch-up service of the national broadcaster, which has no excuse since it benefits from compulstory license fees extracted from the citizenry—and the events are clearly well organized and thought through. In our particular case, there was even an in-depth Zoom panel discussion afterwards with most of the filmmakers involved. Well done, CIFF, for coming through in a time of adversity. Here is my own personal summary of the seven shorts viewed.
Drifting: This 14-minute movie certainly does not lack for star power. Dafhyd Flynn had the title role in Frank Berry’s Michael Inside, which was lauded at film fests in Cork, Dublin and Galway as well as at the Irish Film and Television Awards. His co-star Paul Mescal is properly famous internationally following his starring role in Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald’s series Normal People. The two play best mates in a provincial town, who are about to face a change that will fundamentally alter their friendship. As Pat, Dubliner Flynn has the greater acting stretch, but he convincingly plays a young man itching to get away from the limits of rural life. Mescal’s character is not a million miles away from his Normal People one, but his Cian is less promising and certainly less smooth with the girls. Robert Higgins and Patrick McGivney co-wrote and co-directed this story about how friendships weather changes. In a country where emigration has long been one of life’s features, this is a story that has been played out countless times. For the record, this is the first film I am aware of ever seeing that was filmed in County Longford.
Handfasting: As the film opens, we observe young, blonde, elpin Niamh throwing wine glasses over shoulder, seeing if they will break. Why on earth would she do that? Over the ensuing nine minutes, we come to figure it out. She is to be married in what is usually referred to here as a druid wedding, that is, a ceremony drawing on ancient Celtic rituals. Handfasting, or tying two hands together in the symbolism of binding two lives is such a ritual. The ceremony will also include a Polish wedding custom of the couple throwing their glasses after they drink vodka. It is good luck for the glass to break, and it turns out Niamh is stressing over whether she will cause bad luck if she cannot break the glass. When the climactic moment arrives, what will happen and how will she handle it? Writer/director Magdalena Wodzisz combined elements of her native Poland’s culture with that of her new country to create this intriguing exploration of the power of superstition and how we might take control of it.
April 9th: Two old friends—who seem to have once been something more—meet at a beach on the Irish Sea. As they catch up, we learn that this is an annual event for the pair. She is an actor well enough known to be spotted by fans in public. He recounts how happy he is to have a wife and family. Meanwhile, a seemingly unrelated family are also marking the day and, despite their somewhat forced upbeat tone, we gather that it is a sad occasion. In the course of the film’s 19-minute running time, we come to learn that, though the two groups of people do not know one another, it is the same yearly anniversary they are marking. Taken together, it is an interesting meditation on absence and the difference between knowing and not knowing. Stage actor Tom Pigot—who wrote, directed, produced and stars in the film—adapted the screenplay from a short story by his sister Trish Freehan.
L’Argomento!: Filmmaker Reuben Harvey combined several of his talents to make this musical story of a test of wills between two artists. A student studying the organ has booked time in a church to practice. Due to a mixup, though, the space is double-booked with another music student, an accordianist. Stubbornly, neither is inclined to yield. He presists in playing his classical piece. She challenges him by intervening with some Irish trad music. Using music as their language, a debate ensues, and though they might not settle their dispute, they may find a way of commuicating. Harvey not only wrote the screenplay and directed, but he also composed the pieces and his hands are the one playing the organ. Sean Gordon Dalton has a suitable mix or arrogance and frustation as the organist. Ava Hahessey Madigan exudes willfullness and determination as his musical competitor. This is a great example of how cinema is a visual medium and, in this case, also an aural one. In any case, I was never going to say a negative word about this fine film. We happen to be personally acquainted with one of the actors.
Post Love: As the film opens, the main character tells us in voiceover that falling in love is like robbing a post office. Huh? Bear with her. She has a point. By far the funniest and most entertaining of this short-film program, Post Love tells the story of three elderly sisters who escape from their nursing home to go on a crime spree. Think of a gender-swapped Going in Style set in the West of Ireland (actually filmed in County Wicklow). We learn all we need to know about the trio’s family dynamics in a humorous flashback to their youth and their Ballroom of Romance days. The film’s direcctor Max Barry co-wrote the screenplay with Ryan Mortell. The cast benefits from the considerable presence of soap opera Glenroe veterans Maria McDermottroe (Give Up Yer Aul Sins, Killinaskully) and Geraldine Plunkett (The Clinic, Fair City), as well as Frances Blackburn. They are clearly having a great laugh, and so are we. Certainly no slaves to vanity, the three of them make a serious impression in their improvised balaclava masks made from pink plastic shopping bags. Please tell me this will be expanded from its 12-minute runtime to feature length.
Loving Ava: Two silly teenagers are hanging out, and they wind up in one or the other’s bedroom. Very quickly in this 9-minute flick, we learn quite a bit about the two. Standing in front of a mirror and without an ounce of embarrassment, Ava begins snapping photos of herself topless on an instamatic camera. Sitting on the bed and watching, her friend is mesmerized—not so much by what she is doing but by Ava herself. She is totally in her thrall and almost certainly in love. Within a few minutes, though, she will get a hard lesson in the consequences of adoration, trust and betrayal. It is a cautionary tale that has been played out all-too-many times in this age of smartphones and social media. Emma Bavera and Caoimhe Battault play the two young women. Kate Daly wrote, directed and produced the film.
4x4: This 16-minute film recounts the all-too-ordinary events of a day on a farm in County Wexford. As two teenaged sisters go about their chores, heading to the field on their 4x4 quad, we gather that there is only the two of them and their mother keeping the farm going. Lingering, wistful looks at the expanse of country and the distant horizon suggests a longing to escape and see other places. On the other hand, the stunning beauty of the region suggests there are worse places to be. Not surprisingly, it is the younger girl who chafes most at their relentless routine and the older one who feels obliged to keep her in line. If they are feeling trapped, they soon finds a kindred spirit in a small animal caught in an actual trap. The stern reality of farm life does not bode well for a small pest, no matter how cute it might be, but it does serve as catalyst for the bickering adolescents to appreciate having one another. Filmmaker Ayla Amano was inspired to make the movie by her own rural upbringing in New Zealand. Cousins Guevara Hughes and Kate Cullen, cast mainly on the strength of their quad-riding experience, turn in lovely performances as the sisters.
Links to official film festival sites