Film Ireland Podcast

In this podcast, Gemma Creagh talks to director Johnny Gogan and writer Nick Snow at a special screening of Prisoners of the Moon at the IFI.  The film tells the story of Arthur Rudolph, a scientist who played a key role in NASA’s historic 1969 moon landing. Rudolph was one of over 100 Nazi V-2 rocket engineers secretly brought to America in 1945 to work on the Cold War missile programme. He became a key figure in NASA’s space race, but was arrested in Toronto in 1990 on suspicion of being a war criminal. The dramatised trial (featuring Jim Norton and Cathy Belton) animates this revelatory documentary which uses archive material, expert witness interviews, and the testimony of Jean Michel, a slave labour survivor of the subterranean wartime V-2 Rocket. http://filmireland.net/

In this podcast, Gemma Creagh talks to Jaro Waldeck about filmmaking and her career in cinematography. Jaro talks about learning her craft, training opportunities and getting into the industry. Jaro is a DOP with Master of Arts in Cinematography from FAMU Prague and a Bachelor of Arts in Cinematography from Columbia College Chicago. She interned with Academy Award nominee Phedon Papamichael, ASC, and won several Best Cinematography Awards in Ireland and Scotland. Jaro has worked on projects ranging from short narrative and documentary films to music videos, TV documentaries and commercials and promos. She is a member of Czech Society of Cinematographers and a board member of Women in Film and Television Ireland. As well as focusing on lighting and camera operating, Jaro has four years combined experience teaching cinematography and supervising student film-shoots. Her skills and experience involve working with all modern digital semi-pro and fully professional cameras and workflows, 35mm and 16mm film stocks

Our grotesque gathering of ghouls and goblins return to spread mischief in the latest episode of the Reel Horror Show. Ali Doyle, Conor Dowling, Conor McMahon and Mark Sheridan are all chained at the ankle to a pipe and will only be set free by discussing horror for over an hour - will they succeed and be freed or will they fail and be handed a hacksaw by their evil editor.  Films that come under the horror hammer include Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,  Escape Room, The Silence, Us,  The Twilight Zone, Mom and Dad, Insidious IV, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Victor Crowley, The Cure for Wellness, Unfriended: Dark Web, Slenderman, Possum - "it's a guy, with a bag, with a spider in it...", The Haunting of Sharon Tate, Necromancer, Patchwork, May, Pet Sematary. http://filmireland.net/

Set in modern-day Los Angeles, Papi Chulo tells of a down-on-his-luck weatherman (Matt Bomer) who is shaken by the end of a relationship. He has an on-air meltdown, prompting concerned bosses to persuade him to take some time out. To fill his days, he employs a Latino migrant worker (Alejandro Patiño) to paint his home but also to keep him company. Despite their cultural, age and language differences, they connect.Paul Farren sat down with writer/director John Butler to talk about creating his comedy/drama,  the themes of empathy and unlikely friendship, the talents of Matt Bomer and Alejandro Patiño and working with DOP Cathal Watters and composer John McPhillips. http://filmireland.net/

Sarah Cullen and Richard Drumm address the nation and share their latest jibber jabber on some new films that people have made for you to see, including dream-chasing and drug-taking in Wild Rose,  spotting Dublin streets in Greta, and high-school yarns in 8th Grade and Book Smart.Sarah takes a look at three Netflix films with women drinking in Wine Country, a lack of murders in Who Would you Take to a Desert Island, and alive ghosts in Suzzanna Buried Alive,Richard takes his seat at the High Table and discusses the endless shoot-outs of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, nonsense in the cinema at Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, and the pointlessness of Vox Lux.And finally there's the glass cliff of Avengers: Endgame. http://filmireland.net/

In this podcast, Natasha Waugh talks to Jon Hozier-Byrne, a filmmaker from Dublin, Ireland. John has a BA and an MA in Film Studies from University College Dublin, where he taught film until 2014, when he founded Stoneface Films. Since then, he's had his directorial work featured in the Cannes Film Festival, and created music videos for the likes of We Cut Corners, Hozier, Mick Flannery, and Hometown.

This month at the Cannes Film Festival, 20 up and coming producers from 20 different countries from throughout Europe participate in ‘Producers on the Move’. The initiative is aimed at connecting young, enterprising European producers with potential co-production partners, strengthening their industry networks and, at the same time, providing a solid and visible platform for this next generation of European filmmakers. They take part in project pitching, 1:1 meetings and case studies, social events and an extensive press campaign, which includes online presentation and profiles in the international trades. This year Cormac Fox of Vico Films  was selected as Ireland's EFP Producer on the Move for 2019.Cormac has produced several feature films for Vico Films, including Fiona Tan's History's Future, which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2015, Peter Foott's 2016 local breakout hit The Young Offenders, and Sophie Hyde's Animals which had its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festi

Float Like a Butterfly is a powerful and timely story of a girl’s fight for freedom and belonging.  Some people say it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose.  But for Frances losing is not an option – at stake is her own freedom, her mother’s honour and her father’s faith.  In this podcast, Paul Farren talks to Carmel Winters about her film and the art and craft of filmmaking. http://filmireland.net/

James Allen (Laurence O’Fuarain) is a successful, controlling, thirty-something banker living alone and working in Dublin city at the tail-end of the recession. When a family tragedy occurs at the hands of his employer he decides to take action which forces him to face a terrible childhood secret. Meanwhile, his mysterious co-worker Alison (IFTA-nominated Sarah Carroll) has her own agenda, which puts her on a collision course with James, triggering a dark spiral of deceit, revenge, and murder. Gemma Creagh met up with writer/director Alan Mulligan to talk about his look at modern-day greed and desire, and society’s ever-growing need for control. http://filmireland.net/

In a Brexit-themed show, our podders, Sarah Cullen and Richard Drumm, discuss junk-checking in Captain Marvel, whip out the Irish Bleakometre for The Miami Showband Massacre, The Hole in the Ground, and Shooting the Mafia. There's chat about the buffed fingers of Free Solo, the Peeping Toms of Under the Silver Lake, the harsh yellows of At Eternity's Gate with Willem Dafoe's demon face and the tragic horror of Us. http://filmireland.net/

Our possessed posse return after a hiatus in the netherworld. Summoned back to earth, Conor McMahon, Mark Sheridan, Ali Doyle and Conor Dowling cast a darkened eye over the likes of Suspiria, The Hole in the Ground, Halloween, The House that Jack Built, Anna and the Apocalypse, The Guilty, One Cut of the Dead, Overlord, Castle Rock, Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror, He's Out There and The Monster. Caution. This podcast may contain thigh-slapping. Oo welcome, ahhh oo magu welcome to the Reel Horror Show.

In this podcast, Gemma Creagh talks to Irish writer Stephen Shields about his debut feature film The Hole in the Ground (2019). Stephen also talks about his work on  Zombie Bashers (2010) and Republic of Telly (2009) and gives us an insight into the craft of writing. http://filmireland.net/

The legendary cinematographer Nick Mclean is currently in Ireland for a series of events honouring his work.  We were fortunate enough to have Nick join us to chat with Paul Farren about his illustrious career. Nick is joined by film historian Wayne Byrne, who co-authored a book with Nick which details McLean’s life and work on some of the biggest films and television shows of the past fifty years. Nick takes us inside Hollywood and shares some fabulous stories, working with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Robert Altman, Vilmos Zsigmond, László Kovács, Brian De Palma, Burt Reynolds, Warren Beatty, Hal Ashby, Clint Eastwood, Mel Brooks, Richard Donner on The Goonies and Superman and working on Friends.

Sarah Cullen and Richard Drumm are back in your ear to deliver their take on the Oscars. Plus amongst their reviews, Sarah implores you not to see Dragged Across Concrete, Richard ponders the point of Cold Pursuit, starring Liam Neeson as an avenging Mr Plough and there's love for If Beale Street Could Talk and a look at… a look at… a look at Happy Death Day 2U. Outside of the cinema, there’s a bit of Netflix chats and on the Irish cinema front Richard finds himself liking Cellar Door. http://filmireland.net/

Cellar Door tells the story of young lover Aidie as she searches for her son while in the grip of the Church. But as she gets closer to the truth, she suffers uncontrollable shifts in time and place that send her spiralling. Gemma Creagh sat down with writer/director Viko Nikci to open up the Cellar Door and find out more about his moving mystery thriller. In cinemas from 25th January 2019. http://filmireland.net/

Filmmaker Kate Dolan was recently named in the Irish Times Top 50 people to watch in 2019: Ireland’s hottest young talent. Gemma Creagh sat down to talk to Kate about her career to-date and what we can look forward to in 2019. http://filmireland.net/

Sarah Cullen & Richard Drumm return to your ears after a forced lengthy absence in 2018. We hope to find a home in 2019 and have them back for their almost-regular film ruminations. For now, we set up shop in an abandoned room and reflected on the year in film... The pod kicks off with our buffs looking at their favourite Irish films of the year and includes Richard finally asking Sarah if she's "got any yokes". Our best branding people came together to title a special section for this episode called "The 2018 Oscar Films that Only Came Out Here in 2018 but Are Technically 2017 Films", including a look at the politics of Phantom Thread and the fish-sex movie. After discussing the sudden appearances of naked men, Sarah and Richard pull apart their favourite films of the year, discuss recurring tropes in the year in film, including assimilation, Motherhood as a horrifying thing, highbrow trash and how deaths of wives and girlfriends give men the opportunity to become violent and get in touch with their emoti

Jonathan Victory spoke to Emmy Award winner Nuala O’Connor about her feature directorial debut, Keepers of the Flame, which tells the universal story of generations dealing with the consequences of war and civil war; of what is remembered and what is forgotten. Please note the interview was conducted by phone. http://filmireland.net/

John Collins spoke to Chairman of the Capital Irish Film Festival, Paddy Meskell and Festival Director Pat Reilly about the origins and evolution of the festival, the importance of an Irish film festival in Washington and the challenges the festival faces. The Capital Irish Film Festival celebrates annually the best of new Irish features, documentaries, shorts and animation, and particularly welcomes Irish language films.

John Collins spoke to Tony Cranstoun, editor of The Farthest, which closed this year’s Capital Irish Film Festival in Washington D.C. John was good enough to send us on his recording of their conversation. The Farthest chronicles NASA's 1977 launch of twin space probes, sent to capture images of remote planets and bear messages from Earth. http://filmireland.net/