THERE has been a lot of blather over the last few years about a "renaissance" in Irish cinema. But, apart from the big names like Jordan, Sheridan and Doyle, how many people have seen the large number of films produced here over the last three years?
The Ireland on Screen strand, starting on RTE 1 on St Stephen's night, offers a chance to see many of the films which have received only limited cinema runs. In fact, the opening movie in the series, My Friend Joe, didn't even receive a theatrical release, despite winning several awards at international film festivals. A likeable coming-of-age story about the friendship between a 13-year-old boy (John Cleere) and a young circus performer (Schuyler Fisk), it is followed later that evening by one of the best-known Irish films, Jim Sheridan's In the Name of the Father.
Ireland on Screen provides an overview of Irish film-making of the last few years, ranging from the sublime (Korea) to the ridiculous (Frankie Starlight). Also showing are six half-hour dramas jointly financed by the Film Board and RTE under the Short Cuts scheme. Of the six, two in particular stand out: Damien O'Donnell's brilliant comedy Thirty-Five Aside (showing immediately after My Friend Joe on St Stephen's night) and Stephen Burke's 81, a witty, compassionate drama set during the 1981 hunger shrikes (Network 2, January 6thst quit
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