This article is part of a series about Irish people who are working in creative fields and living abroad.
Ronan Corrigan
Writer-director, London
It was the closure of all commercial and music video shoots during the Covid lockdown that ultimately led Ronan Corrigan to create his debut feature film. LifeHack, about a teenage bitcoin heist, premiered at SXSW last year. It was described by Variety as a “genuinely funny and ultimately heart-pounding production”.
The London-based writer-director had been working in “everything and anything”, building his portfolio with commercials and music videos. This also helped him survive financially while developing his film. Such mid-level opportunities are hard to get if based in Northern Ireland, he explains, and people often end up getting sucked into a big production like Game of Thrones at a lower level, while those working at a higher level are flown in from abroad.
The ads he created include a moving 2018 National Lotteries campaign video about a taxi driver volunteering for a suicide prevention first responder group in Corrigan’s native city of Derry.
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The release of his gritty documentary Soft Boy Forever in 2018 created opportunities for Corrigan to make music videos with Warner Music and Universal, and later with Coldplay. The Webby Award-winning short looks at Dublin’s underground hip hop scene, in an era before the rise of Kneecap. “It was the first time I had been paid properly to be a writer-director,” says Corrigan of the London-commissioned work, focused on Kean Kavanagh and Kojacque in Soft Boy Records.
“Shortly after that documentary they both moved to London. It felt a bit sad – a sign of the times,” he says.
Corrigan initially left Derry after school to live in York in England, where he studied film and TV. With no background in the industry, he loved the chance to spend time tinkering with cinema cameras and in editing suites. It was here that he “found his people”, and a “a bunch of us” moved to London.
But when Covid-19 turned the city into a ghost town, Corrigan “didn’t want to be there”, returning temporarily to Derry. Perhaps not coincidentally, while he was back home living with his family, he developed the movie about teenage slackers attempting a multimillion cyberheist from their bedrooms, told in the screenlife genre (through computer screens).
Corrigan, who praises Film Ireland’s funding options, smiles as he tells of how he got the chance to pitch the movie to international film-maker Timur Bekmambetov (best known for Night Watch). “It was through the BFI (British Film Institute) academy,” he says, explaining how being from Northern Ireland allows him the dual advantage to “jump between schemes”.
There were several Irish on the UK-shot project, including actor Jessica Reynolds (“she’s amazing”), costumes by Donegal native Sad Sac (Daniel Walters) and cinematographer Ciaron Craig. “You find yourself connected to Irish people,” Corrigan says. “They tend to flock together.” There’s a “familiarity” with other Irish people, which is important when you quickly “have to put your trust in people”.
“I feel so lucky to be Irish,” he adds, citing Ireland’s positive reputation in creative fields as a big help. “There’s definitely a green wave.” It brings with it an “automatic positivity” from people. “It also feels like Ireland is on the right side of politics.”
Corrigan, who spends much of his evenings on Zoom calls to LA, says American studios get excited when they hear you are Irish. “About the tax breaks,” he laughs. But the Irish-American connection is strong too, he says.
For his second feature, a horror, Corrigan is planning to come home to Ireland to film, and has already written Derry and Donegal into the script. “It’s still TBC but things are moving quite fast,” he says.
Irish creatives abroad
- An Irishwoman in New York: ‘You can be who you want here if you learn to climb the ladder’
- Irish director in London: ‘You find yourself connected to Irish people, there’s a familiarity’
- An Irish architect in Berlin: ‘Freedom people here have to be themselves gave me courage’
- ‘For many, growing up queer in Ireland was a trauma almost – they ran away
- ‘In Dublin people say they’re exhausted. Danes look down on idea of always being busy’
- Seán Burke, Irish comedian in London: ‘My accent goes a long way when I’m on stage’
- An Irish architect in Berlin: ‘Freedom people here have to be themselves gave me courage’
- ‘For many, growing up queer in Ireland was a trauma almost – they ran away
Are you Irish and living in another country? Would you like to share your experience in writing or by interview? You can use the form below, or email abroad@irishtimes.com. Irish Times Abroad submission guidelines here.
