Director Pat Collins is one of Ireland’s most thoughtful and prolific filmmakers, known for his many documentaries as well as for features such as Silence and Song of Granite. His work invites the viewer to slow down, pay attention to and relish ordinary everyday life; creating a meditative tone which infuses this beautiful film, which receives its Wimbledon premiere at WFC tonight.
Portraying a year in the now-past life of an early 1980s rural Irish community, it is adapted from the 2002 novel, and final work, by John McGahern: described on his death in 2006 as “arguably the most important Irish novelist since Samuel Beckett”.
Collins’ documentaries include John McGahern: a Private World and his feeling for McGahern’s work shines through this sensitive and moving literary adaptation. He has created a successful work in its own right, recognised as film of the year at the Irish Film Awards, and a slow burn sleeper hit in community cinemas across Ireland and the UK.
“Lyrical, loving celebration of the everyday … beautifully realised and quietly beguiling” Screen International
“Reminds us to live as best we can, while we can” Business Post