Coming SOON
DEC
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DEC
8
The Man Who Invented Christmas
Song of
Granite
The festive and light-hearted feature about the most iconic Christmas story ever written and the genius behind it, The Man Who Invented Christmas starring Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, Beauty and the Beast), will be released in Irish cinemas on Friday 1st December. The film tells the story of how Dickens wrote his classic book A Christmas Carol and how he dreamed up the character of Scrooge.
In 1843, Dickens was a literary rock star, but struggling financially after the slow sales of his previous novel, Martin Chuzzlewit. Seized with the vision of a story that would fire the hearts of humanity, Dickens pitched his publishers A Christmas Carol, but they passed. Desperate, Dickens declared he would publish it himself. Slipping into the world of his novel, he spent the next six weeks laughing and arguing with his characters, acting out scenes like a madman on the streets of London for hours on end. His family and friends worried he was going insane, but Dickens prevailed and finished just before Christmas, creating a masterpiece which gave birth to the Christmas we know and love today.
Pat Collins' Song of Granite, Ireland’s submission for the Foreign Language category at next year’s Academy Awards, will be released in Irish cinemas on December 8th.
The Irish-language biopic charts the rise of traditional Irish folk singer Joe Heaney, and how the songs of his west of Ireland childhood helped shape his complex character. Co-written by Collins, Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhríde, and Sharon Whooley, the film had its world premiere at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Enigmatic and complex, Joe Heaney was one of the greats of traditional Irish singing (sean nós). Shaped by the myths, fables, and songs of his upbringing in the west of Ireland, his emergence as a gifted artist came at a personal cost.
Macdara Ó Fátharta, Michael O'Chonfhlaola, and Colm Seoighe portray Heaney at various stages in his life in this beautiful and stirring Irish feature.
Watch trailer
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CinÉireann / November 2017 39