2024-03-03 18:42:36
by Stefania Ulivi
Also «La chimera» by Alice Rohrwacher and «I captain» in the festival directed by Gráinne Humphrey. And poet President Higgins rewards director Steve McQueen
To open he wanted Twig, by Marian Quinn, a portrait of a modern Antigone, black and Irish, in contemporary criminal Dublin. As a surprise film, announced only at the last moment to the public of the Dublin film festival 2024, scheduled from 22 February to 2 March, Gráinne Humphrey, who has directed it since 2007, wanted The Captain by Matteo Garrone. «We closed a special edition, we managed to intercept the audience that we feared we had lost with the pandemic, the younger ones». It’s a golden moment for Irish cinema, still driven by that green wave that has brought Irish artists back to center stage for a couple of years, with the 2023 Oscar nominations, Colin Farell & co. for The Spirits of the Island to The Quiet Girl by Colm Bairéad and the announced triumph of Cillian Murphy on March 10th for Oppenheimer by Nolan. And names like Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott, Barry Keoghan, Saoirse Ronan, Kerry Condon are among the most requested everywhere. «It’s true, it’s a good moment for our cinema. The Oscar for Jim Sheridan’s My Left Foot in 1990 brought attention to Ireland, and what we see today was also born there – explains Humphrey to the Corriere -. We are more at the center of attention than we were years ago, the phenomenon has grown in parallel with the growth of Irish industry and production, the result of the joint work of public entities such as Screen Ireland and the Arts Council. We enjoy great visibility, it’s great., A festival like ours is a thermometer, you measure the temperature, it’s a test. But you have to evaluate it in the international context. We are very aware of being an island, if you don’t open up it’s the end. If you think you are self-sufficient, you are wrong.”
There is a lot of talk about the protagonist of the opening film, «Twig», Sade Malone.
«Be happy about it, he’s a real talent. It had never happened before that the protagonist of our opening film had to leave the cinema at 6.30pm to go to the theatre, where one of the most interesting shows of the moment is in scens with Sive by John B Keane. She was practically a debutant, the director changed the script on her. A film with a very different cast from the classic films of our country, for a rewriting of the tragedy of Antigone. I’m sure we’ll hear about it. Barry Keoghan, now very successful, started from our festival years ago. We have magnificent actors like Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, from here a film like In Bruges started. And, of course, Cillian Murphy. But there are several young people who are carving out their space, outside and inside Ireland.”
Does the state support cinema?
“It is true. Even if, as we know, funds are never enough. But in general the public sector is very attentive to culture as a whole, even at the training level. Success at the Oscars and international visibility help. Ours is a country very tied to literature, at the Berlinale we saw Small Things Like These based on Cillian Murphy, based on the novel by a revered writer like Claire Keegan, also author of the story on which Colm Bairéad based The Quiet Girl”.
President Higgins came to present one of the two Volta Awards to Steve McQueen who spoke about the next film, «Blitz». The other prize went to Isabelle Huppert.
«He is a poet, we are very lucky. He has a great attention for art, in every field. He took action to encourage two or three generations of filmmakers and artists. he’s a real cinephile, he knows everyone. You send him the Steve McQueen award invitation and he knows who he is. In the past the Volta Award has also gone to Paolo Sorrentino, François Ozon, Paul Schneider, Charlie Kaufman. We like to keep our eyes open on authors from different countries. This year we are very proud of our African selection, we have been working on it since Cannes.”
The Irish film to watch?
«King Frankie by Dermot Malone, starring a taxi driver, Peter Coonan. I believe he will go far, he has found distribution. He says a lot about Ireland today. Another interesting title is Baltimore, the work of two directors Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor.”
You have been at the helm of the festival since 2007, what has changed?
“Very, very much. For many years, festivals were done in the same way, with the same structure: you chose a film, you invited filmmaker friends. You can’t make them like that anymore: audiences have changed, films have changed, the way we watch them has changed. Ireland doesn’t have a market, we are part of the wider market. I believe that the future of festivals is in collaboration, in common actions, in considering themselves a community more than they have in the past. You must recognize that your program is a declaration of intent, rather than a snapshot of what exists. You go from being a programmer to a curator. It’s a radical change.”
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March 3, 2024 (modified March 3, 2024 | 7:42 pm)
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