Carrie Crowley: New film hopes to build on the success of An Cailín Ciúin
Carrie Crowley is one of the stars of Froggie, at Galway Film Fleadh. Picture: Brian McEvoy
AS LONG as two decades ago, Carrie Crowley would tell younger actors who sought her advice to brush up on their Irish. They would remember more from their schooldays than they might realise, she would encourage them, while demand was high for people who could speak a cúpla focal.
Crowley’s advice turned out to be wise. Irish and international audiences are currently driving a new wave of interest in Irish-language cinema, buoyed by the success of An Cailín Ciúin, the beloved drama which went all the way to the Oscars.
That interest shows no signs of abating, with six movies in the Irish language debuting at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh as well as a full strand of Irish-language short films.
Among them is Froggie, the story of two brothers and their beloved homemade puppet, which co-stars Crowley and will have its world premiere in Galway. She also stars in the short film Below the Window which will screen at the festival.
Crowley, who has worked in Irish for much of her acting life, is particularly glad to see cinema’s new wave driving an interest in the language.
“I swim a lot, and when I go swimming, sometimes I meet different people who have Irish and we'd end up yakking away,” she says. “Invariably, somebody will come and say: ‘I actually understood everything you said’.
“Instead of it being: ‘Oh my God, I need to get my grammar right’, I would be inclined to say to people, forget about the grammar. Just use what bit you have, and if you have it wrong, it doesn't matter. Nobody's going to correct you. They're going to listen and understand and have a conversation.”
Among the films screening at Galway Film Fleadh is the bilingual Froggie. It tells the story of brothers Fiachra and Tadgh (Seán T Ó Meallaigh and Gearoid Kavanagh) who enjoyed childhood fame with their titular homemade puppet following a TV appearance. Many years later they’re still performing the act - but when the show gets cancelled, their brotherly bond is tested.
“As soon as I read the script, I thought, this is just the most gorgeous story,” says Crowley of the indie film. “It's about the lives of two brothers who have grown up in a very specific way. They were inventive and creative, and their home was an inventive and creative home, and somewhere along the line, things changed.
“It stole my heart when I read it and I just thought: Yeah, I would love to be part of this. Everybody was just putting heart and soul into it for all the right reasons, because it felt like something that should be made, that could be made.”
Crowley worked as a presenter and broadcaster before turning towards an acting career. “Most of my work, as it happens, has been in the Irish language. An awful lot of the work that I'm most proud about, that I enjoy the most, happens to be Irish.”
That includes the forthcoming Aontas, which she filmed in the north this spring. The actress credits Cine4 - an initiative from TG4, Fís Éireann and Coimisiún na Meán - with driving support and creativity when it comes to storytelling in Irish. Films that have emerged from the scheme include the powerful Famine-set drama thriller Arracht, the funny and moving Róise & Frank, about a woman who believes a stray dog could herald the return of her late husband, and of course, An Cailín Ciúin.
The latter was the little film that did, drawing out Irish audiences in their droves and finding much love internationally, including a run all the way to the Oscars, where it was nominated for Best International Feature. Crowley and Andrew Bennett played the couple who brought Cáit (Catherine Clinch) into their home over the course of an unforgettable summer. Did she have any sense of what a game-changer it would prove to be? She remembers feeling the script was special, and looking into director of photography Kate McCullough’s monitor one day and seeing the beauty of a bedroom shot.
“There were moments where during dialogue, or when you're recording something, it just felt right. The only thing you can also say is that none of us, no matter how many good things you've done, can be sure that the next one is going to be good.
“The first time we all saw it, the first cast and crew screening, you could have heard a pin drop for I don't know how many minutes after it ended, because everybody was just sitting there. It was that feeling where we all looked at each other, and you just wanted to say, it worked.
“And then you wait and you see, will other people like it? Bit by bit, as you saw people coming out of screenings, you realise it's working, it's beautiful, and that is such a cause for celebration. When you all put your heart and soul into something, then you realise that it has hit exactly the right notes with the viewing public.”
As well as its international programme, this year’s Galway Film Fleadh is the launchpad for 32 new Irish feature films.
Bad Sisters star Eva Birthistle makes her writing and directorial debut in a drama set in Ireland. It centres around Kathleen, who has turned 18 and left foster care, and her friendship with a young family. Hazel Doupe again shows the screen presence she brought to Cork filmmaker Carmel Winters’ Float Like a Butterfly with a commanding lead performance.
This Irish-language drama centres around ten-year-old Molly, who believes if she learns to play the fiddle like her dad, she can wake him up from a coma. In doing so, she connects with an older man and accomplished player, and believes she has magic in her hands
Former The Fat Lady Sings frontman Nick Kelly turned filmmaker with The Drummer and the Keeper. Here, he combines both music and filmmaking skills in a documentary which sees him cycling to Glastonbury, playing gigs along the way with friend and musical partner Seán Millar.
The latest documentary from Macroom filmmaker Dónal Ó Céilleachair focuses on Robert Kennedy. Not the politician, but the 91-year-old Irish-American Jesuit priest who also happens to be a Zen master.
This year’s opening-night film is the Irish premiere based around the origin story of the Irish-language rap trio. Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí make their acting debuts alongside Michael Fassbender in the film, set in West Belfast.
Ireland’s only powerlifter with dwarfism shows that strength comes in many forms in this moving documentary. It tells the extraordinary story of Drogheda’s Thomas ‘Tommy’ McCague, who battles personal issues to talk up the sport as he aims to compete internationally and represent Ireland.
Galway will screen a special programme of Palestinian films this year with the aim of showcasing the work of artists from Palestine. They include the Irish premiere of To A Land Unknown, the story of a refugee who seeks redemption after being ripped off, which debuted to strong reviews at Cannes.
