Seven of the Splanc! 2016 short films commissioned by the Arts Council and TG4, in partnership with the Galway Film Centre, will be broadcast on TG4 over the Easter weekend, featuring work from acclaimed filmmakers such as Pat Collins and Tadgh O’Sullivan.
This is a special edition of the Irish-language documentary scheme in which film artists provide their creative responses to the legacy of 1916 in the arts in Ireland.
The short films which will be broadcast on TG4 are as follows:
Dónal Ó Céilleachair’s ‘Áiliu Iath n-hErend’ (‘Invoking Ireland’) draws its inspiration from the ancient collection of poems, The Songs of Amergin, which, according to legend the Poems, or Songs, of Amhairghin Glúngheal are the first poems in Irish recited in Ireland. This film brings the poems to life with a chorus of Ireland's finest living poets and a kaleidoscope of images from Ireland's past and present. (26/3/16 7.45pm).
Fergal Ward’s and Adrian Duncan’s ‘Bungaló Bliss’ revisits Jack Fitzsimon's housing catalogue of 1971, and the extraordinary effect it had on Irish house design and rural ways of living. (26/3/16 7.50pm).
Tadhg O’Sullivan’s ‘Solas Céad Bliain’ is a poetic meditation on light, explored as a cinematic journey through one hundred years of Irish art. (27/3/16 7.15pm)
Sharon Whooley’s ‘Imogen Stuart Dealbhóir’ explores the powerful work of German-Irish sculptor Imogen Stuart. Imogen's prodigious work in a variety of media has attracted international attention and critical acclaim over her career. (27/3/16 7.20pm).
Pat Collins brings us into the beautiful, immersive paintings of Co. Tyrone’s William McKeown in ‘Idir Neamh agus Talamh: Saothar William McKeown’. (27/3/16 8.55pm).
Megs Morley’s and Tom Flanagan’s ‘Cruth na Cumhachta’ (Allegories of Power) explores the significance of stone statues found throughout Ireland and their relationship to our political history and our collective memory. (28/3/16 7.15pm).
Oonagh Kearney’s ‘Oíche Nollaig na mBan’ is inspired by Seán Ó Ríordáin’s well known poem and aims to capture the powerful energy of the work in a highly visual treatment. Working with a schoolgirl choir and inter-generational cast of female performers, the film pays tribute to Ó'Riórdáin's language and radical vision of Women's Christmas night. (28/3/16 7.20pm).
Art O’Briain invites us into ‘The Souvenir Shop’, a playful exhibition by artist Rita Duffy which gathers together a collection of unique objects with a sense of irony, history and mischief. (April on TG4).
