As cinemas around the country re-open for business, entertainment.ie has launched an emotive short film about Irish people’s love for cinema. The short film, “Our Window on the World”, celebrates the reopening of Irish cinemas and encourages people to support cinemas this Christmas.
In 2019, Ireland had the highest rate of cinema attendance in Europe, after a turbulent year, entertainment.ie spoke to several key contributors, directors, actors and writers on what cinema means to them. The short film features directors Mark Cousins and Ken Wardrop, actor/writer Tara Flynn and Cartoon Saloon Director Tomm Moore. The contributor’s voices are played over picturesque shots from inside some of Ireland’s cinemas including The Light House, The IFI, Stella Theatres and Triskel Arts Centre.
Cinemas are more than just a temporary escape from reality, and their absence from 2020 has proved that. In the film, Director and Film Critic Mark Cousins recalls what cinema meant to him growing up in Northern Ireland during the troubles. He describes cinemas as not just a source of entertainment, but as a safe space where he could forget about daily life. “I felt I was sitting in winter, looking at summer,” he says.
Documentary filmmaker Ken Wardrop also recalls a special moment when he was standing outside The Light House cinema when he overheard people praising ‘His & Hers’, completely unaware that the director was stood within earshot.
Ireland is full of storytellers, as actress and writer Tara Flynn points out. Cinema is a place to completely immerse ourselves in those stories. “It’s important to our culture I think, particularly in Ireland because it’s storytelling and we’ve fancy ourselves as great storytellers, but I think we live up to that reputation,” says Flynn.
