Quinn’s new Irish movie to be a true family affair
Director Marian Quinn, who previously worked with her older brother on the 1998 film This Is My Father, has written 32A from the point of view of a 13-year-old Dublin girl.
Newcomer Ailish McCarthy, from Ranelagh, has been cast in the central role of the film, which also stars Orla Brady from A Love Divided, Jared Harris, Sophie Jo Wasson, Orla Long and Riona Smith.
Producer Tommy Weir said: “It is a coming-of-age story, but it is unusual in that it is told from a girl’s point of view. There are lots of films telling the boy’s story and this is one of the rare films that tells it from the girl’s point of view.
“In a way there is a simplicity and naivety to the 1970s that is gone. This is an attempt to capture that.”
Quinn, whose last film shot in Ireland was the acclaimed Song For A Raggy Boy, said: “It is nice to come back and work with your sister on her project.”
The actor said he felt the film was realistic to a young teenager’s life and suspected many of the incidents may have been based on things that happened to his sister during her time in Dublin’s Raheny.
Quinn, who plays the father in the film, said: “I think it is about a girl’s first period, first boyfriend, first getting drunk, a coming-of-age kind of thing a lot of people can relate to.”
Ailish, 14, said this was the first film she had starred in that was destined for cinema release, and added: “It is a good experience working with Aidan and Orla.”
The e1.5 million film, which has been shooting in Donaghmede in Dublin and Sligo, features more than 20 cast members, including two of Marian’s sons and a number of young actors.
Weir said: “It is amazing how confident and capable they are.”
The film, which has received funding from sources including the Irish Film Board, BCI and RTÉ, is due to be released in cinemas in autumn 2007.
“We are hoping to premiere in Berlin, then back for the Galway Film Fleadh, then an autumn release in cinemas here and then out on RTÉ,” Weir added.
