Directors Mieke Vanmechelen and UCC graduate Michael Holly bring us an immersive and refreshing documentary about a family and community that seek to develop their physical and spiritual connection to the land, native language and indigenous faiths of Ireland. The para-fictional film centres on husband and wife: spoken word artist Siobhán de Paor and former Wexford hurling captain Diarmuid Lyng. Together with their children and their community, they journey on foot through Ireland in a pilgrimage that immerses Christian faith and Irish tradition within the natural landscape.

The documentary starts with a lovely scene in which Siobhán takes off her shoes and socks in order to make physical contact with the grass and soil beneath her feet. In this way, the feature introduces itself as a sensorial and immersive experience grounded in nature.
The film features excerpts from philosopher-poet John Moriarty whose writings promote a reconnection with nature, a renewal of the Irish language and a rebirth of an inclusive Christianity. These segments usefully act as a commentary on the beliefs and philosophies upholding this pilgrimage and movement.

There is a particular focus on the women as they walk through the natural elements with a statue of Mary carried fondly in a backpack. The Virgin Mary is made to be an active participant in this religious journey and as a result Catholicism is reclaimed to be an active and living process rather than a dormant one situated in the past and enclosed within church walls. The women reflect on and enjoy the process of walking rather than focusing too much on the destination. Their concentration is always on the present moment as they speak in an relaxed blend of Irish and English. They consciously appreciate the beauty and bounty of their surroundings and spontaneously go for swims in rivers and streams along the way.

Towards the end of the film we observe a retreat where men are led in meditation and Diarmuid enthusiastically organises a session of ‘Wild Hurling’ which allows him to situate the game in nature and beyond the confines of corporate interests and competitive events. As a successful and talented GAA player, it is fascinating to see his unique vision of the Celtic sport and how he inspires a revision of the way hurling is considered.

Reflecting on their experience of making the film, Vanmechelen and Holly comment upon how they were made to feel included in the community and practices they were there to observe. They routinely helped out with cooking and cleaning duties which made them feel part of this community in an authentic and tangible way. They describe the process as deeply enriching and transformational. There is an ease and vitality expressed by those featured in the documentary as well as through the picturesque shots of the rugged Irish landscape that stay with the audience long after viewing the film. The beauty of rural Ireland depicted onscreen instils a sense of pride in us and encourages us to wander around the countryside so that we can ponder who we are in today’s fast-moving world.

Harry Lighton is no stranger to the Cork International Film Festival, having multiple shorts played at the festival over the years. As such, it feels right that the Irish premiere of his feature debut, Pillion, fills the Everyman Theatre on the night of its initial screening on the island. Despite being a debut film, Lighton’s deft direction and a cracker of a screenplay gives little indication of the young filmmaker’s journeyman status.  
 
The film follows the introverted Colin (Harry Melling) as he finds himself infatuated with the unobtainably handsome biker Ray (Alexander Skarsgard). The two engage in a full time BDSM relationship, with Colin as Ray’s ever devoting submissive. Colin’s struggle to manage his own expectations of the relationship plays off amidst both the worries of Colin’s parents, and Colin’s own desire to be accepted by Ray’s biker gang.  
 
Straight off the bat, the movie is hot. The crowd in the Everyman clearly knew what they were getting into with this film for the most part, and so the laughs and gasps at the film’s humour and steamier scenes definitely added to the atmosphere of the screening. Melling has proven himself to be an adaptable screen presence over the past five years, and his performance here should definitely turn some heads for his career going forward. As for Skarsgard, it seems like a director has finally made full use of Skarsgard's typically distant acting style and large physical frame by having him stand/sit/lie/ride around, looking gorgeous and saying little. I was not alone in the theatre when thinking that this was a perfectly fine choice. 
 
The film’s unconventional sexual dynamics left plenty of room for shock and humour, with Colin and his family’s reactions to Ray’s quiet dominance allowing the film to show off the script’s often hilarious embrace of its premise. The latter half of the film gives way to a more dramatic unveiling of the processes behind finding one’s wants and needs in sexual relationships. While this drama is played off well due to Lighton’s creative direction, the ever-aloof character of Ray prevents some of these dramatic moments from hitting as they should.  
 
If this film is any indication, Lighton has a promising career as a writer/director going forward. He approaches a relationship often unseen in mainstream film and blows it wide open with some truly hilarious scenes while adding enough drama to sell the sincerity behind the assless wrestling leotards worn by its unconventional lead. ​

​As I mentioned in my review of Irish Shorts 2, I am truly a kid in a candy store once the opportunity to see a programme of shorts rolls around. As such, I had immense pleasure in seeing not one, but two such programmes last Saturday the 9th of November as part of this year’s Cork International Film Festival. This set of films, subtitled Pure Cork, screened in the bustling auditorium of the Everyman Theatre, my personal favourite of the festival venues each year. As the subtitle implies, this programme showcased a bevy of local filmmaking talent across a wide range of genres. 

The first film came from the directing team of Sean Breathnach and Matt Sullivan. Head First relied on the Irish folk belief in ushering a dead body from the home feet first to create an effectively moody gothic short. I have followed Breathnach’s horror releases at multiple festivals for a couple of years now, and it was clear in this short that his skill as a filmmaker continues to grow. 

Are You There? was the second film screened and came from filmmaker James O’ Callaghan. This film is unique in a series of Cork shorts as it was created in the Czech Republic and features Czech dialogue. The film certainly put a high level of technical polish on display, and it’s a treat to see the cultural range of films being created by Cork Filmmakers. That being said, the narrative of this short never really takes off and seemingly ends as quickly as it began. 

The third film, Moan, was a charming and humorous look at working as an intimacy coordinator on set. Created by real-life intimacy professional Roisin O’ Donovan alongside filmmaker Neil O’ Driscoll, the film offered an entertaining mix of humour and drama. However, a joke made at the expense of an actor’s genitals being made by a real-life intimacy coordinator in the film had me questioning the levels of taste in a film that was otherwise shedding light on an underexplored aspect of the industry.  

I strongly considered not mentioning the fourth film, Chatter by filmmaker Stephen Canty in this review. It is said that “if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything”. In the interest of fairness, I simply mention the film as being a romantic comedy devoid of humour, with terribly flat acting and lack of chemistry between the leads.  

Luckily, the fifth film, Culchie by Richard Lennon, proved to be the audience's favourite by a large margin. This short focused on a young farmer struggling to tell his culchie father of his imminent move to Dublin. The film is hilarious with two fantastic leads in Brian McCarthy and Pat McCarthy. It is the best short I had the pleasure of seeing at the festival, and the screams of applause from the theater once the credits rolled confirmed that I wasn’t alone in that feeling. 
 
FÁINLEÓGA, as the programme’s sixth film, stands out as the first documentary of the bunch. Luke O’ Donoghue’s film chronicles the current depopulation of Cape Clear Island and features interviews with a variety of the island’s current inhabitants. The film questions whether or not island life in Ireland is dying, and the sadness I felt watching the film was contrasted in the knowledge that films like this are bringing eyes to these small Irish communities, and may in turn lead to more visitors and possibly even more residents in the future. 

Continuing the trend of shedding light on local areas was Glen Folk from Annie Mar Forrester and Aaron Ross. This film used beautiful hand drawn animation to tell five local stories about the nature and wildness of Glen River Park. The film called for urgency in conserving the area’s natural state, and I was thoroughly charmed by the film’s casual storytelling and visual style. 

Our final film of the day was Through Your Eyes, an account of a walk through Cork city through the eyes of a girl fleeing from war to Ireland as provided by filmmaker and actor Yelyzaveta Zvarych. The film is beautifully shot, imbuing the many shots of the city with a dreamlike quality. While some of the dialogue and delivery between the girl and her Corkonian host was stilted, it was hard not to be moved by the filmmaker's journey and sentiment.  
 
I ended my day satisfied having seen such a creative range of local filmmaking. Despite having seen both the worst and best short films I have seen this year in the one screening, it was difficult to suppress the signature Cork smugness as I left the theatre.  ​