MARK COUSINS, the director of The Story of Film: An Odyssey and I Am Belfast, is coming to Galway to present his new documentary about Orson Welles, to be screened at the Pálás.
The Eyes of Orson Welles, executive produced by Michael Moore, will be screened on Thursday August 23 at 7pm, followed by a Q&A with Cousins, hosted by Declan McGrath. Parts of the documentary were filmed in Galway city and Connemara, retracing Welles’ steps during his trip to Ireland as a teenager.
While Welles’s films as an actor and director, such as Citizen Kane,Touch of Evil, and Chimes at Midnight, are regarded as among the greatest and most innovative ever made, his work as a visual artist has been overlooked. Welles continued to draw and paint throughout his life, for his own pleasure, and for this film Welles’ daughter Beatrice has granted Cousins access to her father's artwork.
The film travels to Ireland, New York, Chicago, Kenosha, Arizona, Los Angeles, Spain, Italy, Morocco to locate artworks and dramatize some of the defining moments in Welles’ career and personal life. It was shot using two handheld cameras, one tiny HD camera, and one 4K camera. As well as examining Welles' artwork it also looks at questions about power, existentialism, memory, destiny, psychology, space, and light.
Places for the screening are limited. Tickets are €5 and can be booked through Eventbrite.
