Palme D’Or - Irish film industry in the limelight

THE spectacular success of British director Ken Loach’s film about the War of Independence, which scooped the Palme d’Or at Cannes, inevitably raises questions about the health of Ireland’s film industry.

As one wag observed, the question is, will The Wind that Shakes the Barley shake the money tree?

Shot in Cork and Kerry, and starring Irish actor Cillian Murphy, parallels have been drawn between the brutalising of Irish people by British forces in the 1920s and what is happening in Iraq today. This anti-imperialism message is in keeping with the political edge that Mr Loach brings to his work.