Still Film Productions have revealed production is underway on two new short documentaries; ‘Rialto Twirlers’, from director Anne Maree Barry, and ‘Alibi’ from director Darren Bolger.
‘Rialto Twirlers’ looks to capture a secret moment of unity and beauty as five girls rehearse their routine for the final time before a national majorette competition. Still Films describes the girls as “not as acrobatic as their American cheer leader compatriots or as military as their marching bands founders, The Rialto Twirlers are a creative fusion of hard graft, skill and energy that is associated with our pluralistic age in which anything is possible.”
This observational documentary short film, produced by Nicky Gogan, incorporates the passion for performing of the Rialto girls whilst capturing a subculture whose beginnings evoke a sense of nostalgia and a forgotten skill – baton twirling. The video work is based on an anonymous photograph that was taken in December 1989 during the Romanian revolution against the Communist regime in Bucharest. By reconstructing this renowned historical image Anne Maree Barry is seeking to analyze the way a fabricated image can reconfigure our relationship to historical truth.
The second of Still Film’s short documentaries currently in production is ‘Alibi’ which examines the brutal murder of Phyllis Murphy in a small Irish town whilst on her way home to her family for Christmas. When questioned by the police, Paddy gives his friend and workmate John a cover story. Twenty years later Paddy’s lies are exposed through DNA by the police coldcase team and John is arrested for murder. Paddy’s seemingly innocent lie is now an alibi. The close knit community is in turmoil.
‘Alibi’ is produced by Caroline Campbell and the director of photography is Jim Bloxam. ‘Alibi’ examines the personal impact of Paddy’s decision on both families and the local community. Paddy has recently passed away and in a town where most things remain unspoken, this may be the first time the families feel they can talk. The film is directed by Darren Bolger.