Austerity demo on camera

Among the seven world premieres of Irish films to be screened at IndieCork is Donncha Ó Briain’s documentary, Peripheral Vision.

Ó Briain, who won a number of awards for The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, has zoned in on Ballyhea, County Cork for his new film. “It’s essentially about the local opposition to the financial crisis by the people of Ballyhea who march against austerity every Sunday,” says IndieCork director, Mick Hannigan.

Three Irish features are among the premieres. Trampoline, directed by Tom Ryan, is “a charming film about a young woman who comes back from London to live in Nenagh. It’s a typical indie film in that the drama comes out of little incidents. Aoife Spratt is brilliant in it.”

Sodium Party, directed by Michael McCudden, is very well shot, says Hannigan. “It’s about a damaged young woman called Claire. Gradually, you become aware that the film you’re viewing is what Claire sees. That’s why things are strange and don’t make sense.” The film involves Claire being haunted by her childhood imaginary friend. It is an experimental non-linear thriller.

Limp, directed by Shaun Ryan, follows the deterioration of a relationship told through the perspective of a man whose brain has been curdled by isolation. He is so desperate for companionship that he plays out a relationship between himself and a woman he has killed. The world the man has built around himself spirals out of control.

A quirky film event, ‘A Wall is a Screen,’ is being brought to Cork from Hamburg. “The company will do a tour of the city, screening films on walls. They will move the projector, the sound and the audience from venue to venue.”

There are a number of directors involved in ‘Cork, Like’, which is an anthology of nine short films united by the theme of Cork. All the film-makers are Cork-based, with the sound-track composed by Athos Tsiopani and performed by the Cork New Music Ensemble. “Cork comes out of it very well. Some of the films are dramas and some are experimental. There’s also documentary and an animation film. It’s pretty good. Obviously, there are some films that are stronger than others, but for the most part, the film makers can hold their heads high. What you get is different perspectives of Cork... Cork looks like a very groovy place to live in the film.”

‘Cork, Like’, which has a cast and crew of over 50 people, was initiated by the Cork Film Centre and will be an opportunity to see local talent collaborating together.

Four features from ‘Factory 25’, the Brooklyn-based home for provocative narrative films and documentaries, will be screened. As well as the controversial Frownland (see above), Kid Thing, will be shown at IndieCork. Directed by David Zellner, it’s about a rebellious ten year old called Annie. She lives on the outskirts of a town with her father, Marvin. He, when not herding goats, mostly spends his time sleeping. Annie, left to her own devices, roams the neighbouring lands. She shoplifts and engages in destructive behaviour. Her routine is broken one day when she hears an old woman calling from an abandoned well. Screen Daily has described the film as having ‘backwoods weirdness with a pop-art sensibility.’

* For full programme details, visit www.indiecork.com.