Midland Arts and Culture Magazine - Register.ie
Midland Arts and Culture Magazine - Register.ie
Midland Arts and Culture Magazine - Register.ie
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Mov<strong>ie</strong>filmedin Offalymakeshistory inCannesA sleepwalker. A body.A family. A smallcommunity. Arlene islike a ghost in her life.She lives in a small town in themidl<strong>and</strong>s – surrounded by f<strong>ie</strong>ld afterf<strong>ie</strong>ld, woodl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> lane ways todisappear down <strong>and</strong> never come back…One morning Arlene wakes in the woodsbeside the body of a young woman.Someone watches from the trees. Thebody is soon discovered <strong>and</strong> suspicionspreads through the community.Increasingly drawn to the girl’s family –her gr<strong>ie</strong>ving sister <strong>and</strong> accusedboyfr<strong>ie</strong>nd, Arlene barricades herself inat night, afraid to sleep. Haunted bygr<strong>ie</strong>f, Arlene’s sleeping <strong>and</strong> wakingrealit<strong>ie</strong>s soon blur. And all this timesomeone is watching her...The Other Side of Sleep, which wasfilmed over four weeks in Offaly in AprilMullingART bringssplash of colour totown for third yearNow in its third year, The MullingART Project will again be subtlyadorning the shop windows of Mullingar Town bringing a welcomesplash of colour for a few weeks over the summer.“The real joy of MullingART for me,” said Project Co-ordinator, DonMortell “is that it isn’t in your face. It’s a gentle celebration of theincredible wealth of talent in Mullingar that largely goes unrecognised.”He explained: “The principle of the project is a simple but incrediblysuccessful one. We ask local creative talents to provide a p<strong>ie</strong>ce or twoof their work from whichever discipline they choose. Photography, oils,watercolour, sculpture, the only limit is that of the artists imagination.“The p<strong>ie</strong>ces, once assembled together, are then distributed tobusiness premises throughout the town to be displayed in shopwindows, pub <strong>and</strong> business walls, anywhere that the public, be theylocals or visitors to our town can see <strong>and</strong> enjoy them for the duration ofthe project. Ultimately it is, in effect a 24/7 people’s art gallery.“To my knowledge, our project is unique in Irel<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> by definition,‘uniquely Mullingar’.”At the end of the project the submitted p<strong>ie</strong>ces are collected together<strong>and</strong> displayed in one static exhibition. Last year the gallery wassituated in Danny Byrnes’ old nightclub space.“It was through the generosity of Mark <strong>and</strong> the staff of Danny Byrnespub that we acquired this perfect space for our gallery last year. Otherthan a generous grant from Westmeath County Council <strong>Arts</strong>Department, our greatest asset, as a project, is goodwill.“MullingART exists only because of the bel<strong>ie</strong>f placed in us by CatherineKelly (<strong>Arts</strong> Officer of Westmeath County Council) <strong>and</strong> the kindness <strong>and</strong>positive of the town’s artists <strong>and</strong> business owners <strong>and</strong> operators.Without any of these vital components, Mullingart would not be thesuccess it is becoming <strong>and</strong> indeed, may not exist at all.”Don went on to say: “MullingART is not about generating money. Its2010 <strong>and</strong> included many local cast <strong>and</strong>crew in the making of the film <strong>and</strong> withthe help <strong>and</strong> support of FilmOffaly, hasreceived some rave rev<strong>ie</strong>ws.The Other Side of Sleep has gone on tobe lauded as the acclaimed debutfeature by Irish filmmaker Rebecca Dalythat features a powerful <strong>and</strong> compellingperformance from Antonia Campbell-Hughes, one of this year’s BerlinInternational Film Festival’s ShootingStars award recip<strong>ie</strong>nts.This hotly-anticipated suspense dramamade history at its World Prem<strong>ie</strong>re atthe Cannes Film Festival in 2011 as itwas the first film directed by an Irishwoman to be selected for inclusion inthe Festival.The film, produced by Fastnet Films,also screened in competition at theToronto International Film Festival <strong>and</strong>was nominated for Best Director <strong>and</strong>Best Actress at the Irish Film <strong>and</strong>Television Awards.The film took only six weeks to shoot,(in Geashill, Clara, Tullamore <strong>and</strong>Portarlington) but results in anexceptionally still <strong>and</strong> haunting film,choosing locations that offer Offaly in anew light <strong>and</strong>, in particular, the tunnellikedriveway of trees in Geashill.Leading a fantastic ensemble cast inThe Other Side of Sleep, as well asbeing named one of Berlin InternationalFilm Festival’s Shooting Stars, AntoniaCampbell-Hughes’ career is at a highpoint. Other key cast members includetwo veteran Irish actresses of stage <strong>and</strong>screen, Olwen Fouere <strong>and</strong> Cathy Beltonas well as hot newcomer <strong>and</strong> Tullamorenative Sam Keeley who has gone on tostar in RAW <strong>and</strong> What Richard Did.sole purpose is to bring a touch of pleasure <strong>and</strong> enjoyment to the town<strong>and</strong> its visitors while promoting the incredible amount of talent thatexists in Mullingar which perhaps otherwise would never get theexposure, recognition or adulation it so richly deserves.“With each year that passes, I am consistently impressed at the quality<strong>and</strong> var<strong>ie</strong>ty of p<strong>ie</strong>ces submitted. The pleasure for me is that while anumber of MullingART artists are professionally trained <strong>and</strong> are sellingtheir work outside of the project, the vast majority of contributors areenthusiastic hobby artists <strong>and</strong> nothing gives me greater pleasure thanhearing that one of our artists is surprised <strong>and</strong> delighted at selling ap<strong>ie</strong>ce or p<strong>ie</strong>ces as a result of the project.“All p<strong>ie</strong>ces are displayed with an individual “exhibit card” which carr<strong>ie</strong>sthe artists contact details. Any potential sales negotiations orcommissions are discussed directly with the artist. MullingART merelyacts as a conduit to make this possible”.Last year’s MullingART saw nearly 150 p<strong>ie</strong>ces submitted <strong>and</strong> wants tosee more in 2012, not only from Irish artists but from othercommunit<strong>ie</strong>s who live in Mullingar.“I would love to see more submissions from other Mullingarcommunit<strong>ie</strong>s <strong>and</strong> groups. This project is totally inclusive. I want to hearfrom the African, Eastern European, Traveller, Asian <strong>and</strong> Britishcommunit<strong>ie</strong>s or any other groups who would like to display their work.The project is not about work being judged. It is about makingsomething special happen as a town. I would love to see the differentstyles <strong>and</strong> perceptions of art that these groups can bring to ourproject,” added Don.MullingART 2012 will take place over July <strong>and</strong> August. It will besupported by an extensive local media campaign, a website <strong>and</strong>Facebook page.For more information, please contact Don on 087 611 6883 or emaildonmortell@gmail.com MBr<strong>ie</strong>fsMAY/JUNE LINE-UPAT THE DUNAMAISEARTS CENTREAs ever, there is a very eclectic mix ofperformances at the Dunamaise <strong>Arts</strong>Centre throughout May <strong>and</strong> June withtheatre <strong>and</strong> music to the fore.Two very well known faces lead thecharge: Gay Byrne comes to thetheatre on Thursday, May 17 for whatis certain to be a unique event <strong>and</strong>Des Keogh returns with the hilariousshow based on JB Keane stor<strong>ie</strong>s TheLove Hungry Farmer.In June, there is a new theatre showentitled Love All, which tells theamazing true story of the only Irishperson to feature in the Wimbledontennis final.Other performances include aRiverdance style musical/danceextravaganza Celtic Dream on May31 <strong>and</strong> a much-anticipatedperformance by local tenor AmbroseDunne on June 23.The Dunamaise film programme isalways worth a look <strong>and</strong> this seasonis no exception.Films lined up for screening includethe big Oscar winner The Artist; theacclaimed My Week with Marilyn,featuring an Oscar nominatedperformance by Michelle Williams;the much anticipated Irish mademov<strong>ie</strong> featuring Martin Sheen, StellaDays <strong>and</strong> This Must Be the Place, afilm partly filmed in Dublin featuringSean Penn, Frances McDorm<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong>Eve Hewson.Also one to look forward to is anadaption of the great Yasmina Rezaplay God of Carnage featuring an allstarcast of Jod<strong>ie</strong> Foster, KateWinslet, Christoph Waltz <strong>and</strong> John CReilly <strong>and</strong> directed by RomanPolanski. God of Carnage is set in aNew York apartment <strong>and</strong> observesthe increasingly childish <strong>and</strong> chaoticbehaviour of two couples that meet tosort out a playground row betweentheir sons. Also not to be missed isMadonna’s debut as a film directorwith the story of Wallis Simpson <strong>and</strong>Edward VIII in W/E.Full details on all the performances<strong>and</strong> screenings are available onwww.dunamaise.<strong>ie</strong> MDirector of Dunamise <strong>Arts</strong>Centre praised for contributionSEE PAGE 2911