Feile na Gaeilge Glaschú 2018 Song of Granite

Acclaimed filmmaker Pat Collins presents the life story of legendary seannós singer Joe Heaney. The film celebrates the genius of the musician, while painting an unflinching portrait of a deeply enigmatic and complex man. Born in Connemara in 1919, Joe Heaney was shaped by the myths, music, and songs of his upbringing. By the time of his death in Seattle in May 1984, he was internationally acclaimed as one of the most important figures in Irish traditional music. Collins cast Míchéal Ó Confhaola, an actor and singer of fittingly raw intensity, to play the central role of mid-life Heaney. He drew on a range of archival film, pitch-perfect recreations and haunting abstractions to represent the exterior realities and interior workings of Heaney’s psyche, Collins has created a work of musical integrity and cinematic purity – his most exquisite work to date.

Song of Granite is Ireland’s entry for the 90th Oscars, in the Best Foreign-Language Film category 2018.

Songs of Granite: Ireland 2017, Director Pat Collins. Stars Michael O’Chonfhlaola, Macdara Ó Fátharta, Leni Parker, Alain Goulem. 118 min. Cert 12A. Language: Irish & English