Fintan Connolly
Fintan Connolly is an Irish film director, screenwriter and producer living in Dublin.[1] Much of his earlier work was in television documentaries which explored social issues in Ireland. He has also made films, including Flick (2000), Trouble with Sex (2005), Eliot & Me (2012) and Barber (2023) through his production company Fubar Films.[2]
Career
Connolly directed the short film Angel on the Rocks in 1985. He co-produced, with Helen Fahy, the short movie Horse (1993) directed by Kevin Liddy.[2] This film won an award for "Best European Short" at the Premiers Plan Festival in Angers, France in 1994.[3] Working with co-director Hilary Dully, he worked on several television documentaries for RTÉ, Channel 4 and TG4. These include Framed! (1987), No Comment (1988), ...and finally France (1988), For Better Or Worse (1989), No Comment II (1991), Notice To Quit (1992, rights of older tenants), 50,000 Secret Journeys (1994, abortion), and Comely Maidens (1995).[4] As a single director, Connolly directed the documentaries Sisters (1998), Priests (1998), Out of Nowhere (2000, asylum seekers), Ainé's Journey (2000) and Singleton (2002).[2][5]
Connolly made his feature film directorial debut with
In 2005, Connolly made
In 2012, Connolly made
He later made observational documentaries for RTÉ’s children's channel RTÉjr, including Zara World (2014), Circus World (TV series), (2016) and All Aboard (TV series) (2018).[19][20]
His film Barber, with Aidan Gillen, premiered at the 2023 Dublin International Film Festival.[21]
Controversy
50,000 Secret Journeys, which, along with all Connolly's early documentary work, was co-directed with the documentary filmmaker Hilary Dully, is a film in which three women who had abortions tell their stories intercut with news clips recounting events in a legal struggle between pro and anti abortion campaigners.[22] A decision to pull the film from the RTÉ schedule, on 29 March 1994, provoked strong protest from several film-makers. A statement issued by SIPTU, on behalf of the TV producer/director and director grades, said that it was "a matter of serious concern to TV producers and directors that such a programme should be deemed unsuitable for inclusion in one of RTÉ's main current affairs programmes". An RTÉ spokesperson said the decision had been taken "for internal RTÉ reasons which we don't want to go into".[23] The documentary was ultimately screened on RTÉ on 27 October 1994 and followed by a studio debate on abortion in Ireland chaired by Marian Finucane.[24]
Recognition
Writing on the release of Connolly's debut film, Flick (2000), Ciaran Carty in the
The Sunday Times referred to the films Flick and Trouble with Sex as "Irish noir fiction", saying that "Fintan Connolly's movies [..] depict a thoroughly noir-looking Dublin full of moody shadows and drenched in blue light, but there is no corresponding heart of darkness in the plot".[28] Another reviewer said that Trouble With Sex "vacillates between modes of melodrama and avant-gardism, unsure what kind of film it is".[29]
Of Trouble with Sex, Yvonne Hogan in Irish Independent stated that "The ennui of single thirty somethings in the newly wealthy Ireland is a field ripe for cinematic interrogation and Connolly is to be commended for grappling with it".[30]
Awards and nominations
Selected filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1985 | Angel on the Rocks | Director, co-writer | 20 minutes short film[31] |
1993 | Horse | Producer | 30 minutes short film[32] |
2000 | Flick (2000 film) | Director, writer | 82 minutes crime drama[33][34] |
2000 | Country | Associate producer | 92 minutes drama[35] |
2005 | Trouble with Sex | Director, co-writer | 89 minutes drama[36] |
2012 | Eliot & Me | Director, co-writer | 60 minutes drama[37] |
2023 | Barber | Director, co-writer | 90 minutes drama[38] |
References
- ^ "Not For The Faint-Hearted". universitytimes.ie. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- ^ a b c d "CONNOLLY, Fintan (director, scriptwriter, producer)". Trinity College Dublin. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
- ^ Alan Owens (26 June 2008). "The Leader Interview..with Kevin Liddy, movie writer and director". Limerick Leaser. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
- IMDb
- ISBN 9780719069079.
- ^ Ging, Debbie (11 July 2000). "Partners". Film West, Issue 41. pp. 26–28.
- better source needed]
- ^ "No budget, no strings, some movie". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 8 September 2000. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ "Sex on a Low Budget". Film Ireland. Archived from the original on 8 August 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
- Irish Times. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ^ Dwyer, Ciara (13 August 2000). "Remembering Dublin city in the real new times". Sunday Independent.
- ^ Jamie Hannigan. "Trouble With Sex". Film Ireland. Archived from the original on 18 December 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
- ^ a b Donoghue, Ray (5 May 2005). "review: Trouble with Sex". RTÉ. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ^ Irish Film and Television Awards. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ^ Hough, Jennifer (6 May 2005) "A second flick for Fintan" Galway Advertiser
- ^ Galvin, Steven (9 October 2012). "Multiple festival invitations for 'Eliot & Me'". filmireland.net. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
- Irish Film Board(in Irish). Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ^ "Production Catalog 2008/2009" (PDF). Irish Film Board. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
- ^ Griffin, Nathan (23 March 2018). "RTÉ Commissions New Children's Documentary Series 'All Aboard'". iftn.ie.
- ^ Murphy, Niall (23 March 2018). "#ArTeilifis: New children's series All Aboard to air on RTÉjr". scannain.com.
- ^ O'Neill, Claire (16 March 2023). "Fintan Connolly's Irish noir film Barber comes out this April". hotpress.com.
- ^ "50,000 Secret Journeys". tcd.ie. Trinity College Dublin.
- Evening Herald
- Irish Times
- ^ Carty, Ciaran (16 July 2000) “Flick and Country show depth of new Irish film talent” Sunday Tribune
- Irish Times
- ^ Walsh, Pete (September 2000) Irish Film Centre brochure Irish Film Institute
- ^ McCarthy, Gerry (4 June 2006). "Literature: The dark side of the boom". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ^ Emma Grealy. "The Trouble With Sex". IRISH CINEMA – 2005 Year in Review. Archived from the original on 15 September 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
- ^ Hogan, Yvonne (6 May 2005) 'Nothing But Trouble" Irish Independent
- IMDb
- IMDb
- IMDb
- ^ "Flick". Trinity College, Dublin. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
- IMDb
- IMDb
- IMDb
- IMDb
External links
- Fintan Connolly at IMDb