I was going to start out by typing something along the lines of, “unless you’ve been living under a rock, this past year, you’ll already know about Joey.” But that’s obviously just silly. Things go on in our lives and we may share some of them on social media, even repeatedly so, but that doesn’t mean people have seen them. Often, it’s quite the opposite, we say these things out loud and practically nobody hears them.
That’s all okay.
So, just in case you haven’t heard, ‘Joey Had Never Been Out
of the City’ is a short film by director and friend Richard Keaney that was written
by yours truly. It is the second completed film we have conspired on, the first
being ‘Getting In.’ Both are a testament to Richard’s talent as a filmmaker and
his unwavering tenacity in striving to get stuff done. It is also a testament
to my ability to type, let’s not be overly modest here.
Joey was born from a story that fell on me from out of the
sky on a trip to Dublin one day. I wrote it as a short story which still resides
here on the blog somewhere and, some years after that, the urge to adapt the
story to a short film script became unavoidable.
It’s taken a long time to get from page to screen, but then
things very often do. Anyone who mistakes this shit for being easy is not in
the game. But, as I said, Richard was (and remains) indefatigable. He assembled
a team of people to produce, visualise, act-in, record, transport and generally
realise and he got it done. Kudos to all those people who came along with him
(us, I guess) for the ride. I hope you are happy you did, as I surely am.
I’m really happy with Joey as a short film. It’s true to the
intent I had when I was buried in the pages and it looks and sounds really
great. It’s played a fair share of film festivals on its run and has won a fair
share of kudos and awards along the way.
And now, it’s coming home. To Castlebar, where Richard and I
are both from. The Linenhall Arts Centre, where we both have cut some teeth
(mine a bit longer than his) is presenting a ‘Celebration of Mayo Indie Short
Films & Filmmakers’ and Joey and Richard and I will be there to see the
film screened and answer a few questions. I hope there’s a lanyard. I do love a
good lanyard. The evening is on 26th June at 8.00pm and tickets can
be got from The Linenhall website or by phoning them or calling in to them.
They’re always worth a visit.
https://www.thelinenhall.com/whats-on/events/celebration-of-mayo-indie-short-films-filmmakers
The evening is being organised by Ruaidhrí Hallinan, whose film 'Where the Old Man Lives' is also showing, and I believe it was he who got Film Ireland involved so thanks very much for having us on board, Ruaidhrí. See you there!
This is doubly exciting for me as I didn’t manage to get to
any of the festivals where Joey appeared so this will be my first (and possibly
only) time to see the film up on a big screen. Also the other films that make
up the evening are of a very high calibre with some of Ireland’s top talent
attached to them. Also my old (not old) pal Crona Esler is presenting the
evening and, I guess, asking the questions. All top stuff.
I rattle on about this but, as a writer, my redemption has been to learn the importance of seeking out like-minded people in your own place. Help them out, get them to help you out. Make and do things together. In this way, film and theatre and art can get made and be seen and be given the very real opportunity to rise up out of its local routes and march out to beat the world. I may never see my stuff in Hollywood or Broadway or the West End of the NFT or even Sligo or Athlone. But it exists. The words have became flesh and they exist out there in the world and that is a great and a wonderful thing. Thanks to everyone who continues to help me to make that happen. It’s the best process, the best fun, and it turns script words on pages into something tangible and real, which is magic.
If I don’t see you there on June 26th, at The Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar, I’ll certainly see Richard and I’ll certainly see Joey.
And that, for now, will be enough.
2 comments:
🥳
Nice one!
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