Made of Strong stuff: TalKing Song of Granite
Ireland's official entry for Best Foreign Language feature for the 90th Academy Awards, Pat Collins' Song of Granite, is a singular piece of filmmaking. Notionally a biopic of the life of sean nós (Irish traditional singing) singer Joe Heaney, the film is a heady cocktail of stunning black and white cinematography, scripted drama, and archival footage of the real Joe Heaney himself. The film competes with a record total of 92 entries for the Oscar shortlist, but win or ose it has established itself firmly as one of the finest piece of cinema produced on the island in recent memory.
We caught up with director Pat Collins, editor Tadhg O'Sullivam, and director of photography Richard Kendrick to talk about Joe Heaney, sean nós, and the crafting of the film.
30 CinÉireann / December, 2017
WORDS: NIALL MURPHY