FILM MAKER Pat Collins, who spent a number of years in Galway, will be celebrated at this year’s Cúirt International Festival of Literature, with screenings of some of his acclaimed documentary films on Irish writers.
John McGahern: A Private World (2005 ) will be screened on Thursday April 23 at 4pm. This film - which was made just before the late writer published his memoirs - won Best Documentary at the Irish Film and Television Award 2005 and Best Arts Documentary at the Celtic Film Festival 2006.
Michael Hartnett - A Necklace of Wrens (1999 ) will be screened on Friday 24 at 5pm. It was filmed a year before the poet’s death and includes contributions from Seamus Heaney, Paul Durcan, and Liam Ó Muirthile. It won the Jury Award at the 1999 Celtic Film Festival.
Frank O’Connor - The Lonely Voice (2003 ) was made to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great writer. It examines his importance as a short story writer, translator, and his role as a ‘public intellectual’. The film features interviews from his daughter Liadain, his son Owen, and his wife Harriet O’Donovan Sheehy. See it on Saturday 25 at 2pm.
Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill - Taibhsí I Mbéal Na Gaoithe (2007 ) is an intimate look at the life and work of one of Ireland’s most celebrated contemporary poets. Ní Dhomhnaill describes the landmark events that have shaped her life, weaving an incredible tale of displacement, love, tragedy, and joy. It will be shown on Saturday April 25 at 3.30pm.
The musician, broadcaster, and film maker Philip King will be screening his 1998 documentary Keeping Times, about Seamus Heaney and Liam O’Flynn on Saturday 25 at 5pm. It features the poetry of Heaney and the piping of O’Flynn and the long-standing relationship between the two artists.
All films will be shown in the Nuns Island Theatre. Tickets are available from the Town Hall Theatre on 091 - 569777. Information can also be obtained from the Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, on 091 - 565886.
