Following on from St. Brigid’s and St. Patrick’s Day festivities, Irish Film and TV UK presents a programme of work at ICA celebrating female voices. The programme consists of a rare chance to see Maeve Murphy’s landmark Troubles drama Silent Grace; the thrilling rediscovery of delightful work by amateur filmmaker Flora Kerrigan, presented by Irish Film Institute in association with Maynooth University; and two films by Aoife Desmond, whose work deals with human relationship with nature and who is emerging as one of Ireland’s most distinctive and vital visual artists. 

Amateur filmmaker Flora Kerrigan was an active member of the Cork Cine Club during the late 1950s and 1960s, producing numerous Super8 short films ranging from animation to documentary. Kerrigan’s films were recognised internationally and she won awards at prestigious amateur film competitions like ‘Ten Best’.

A selection of her films was also screened on RTÉ in 1965, with one newspaper review praising the quality of the films by this ‘quizzical young woman from Cork” who made, among other films, “an extremely witty little piece of interplanetary whimsy dealing with the history of space exploration.” Such a description of her film Moonshine doesn’t do justice to the profound criticism of power and ego that Kerrigan comments upon. Her films are often darkly comedic and, using innovative amateur animation techniques and with a clear skill for the edit, Kerrigan’s haunting and eerie films tackle themes of death, destruction and desire.

This screening will be introduced by Kasandra O’Connell, Head of the IFI Irish Film Archive. 

Presented by Irish Film Institute in association with Maynooth University.