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Pick of the Indies
HATS off to film-maker Maeve Murphy. The Northern Irish-born director’s latest offering Beyond The Fire has scooped the top gong at this year’s London Independent Film Festival.
She collected the award on Monday at the Coronet Cinema in Notting Hill, and tells POTI that as an Irish woman living in Camden Town, she knew she had the best locations on her doorstep.
Much of the movie, which deals with the uncomfortable topics of religion and sexual abuse, is set on the streets of Camden Town.
Viewers will recognise a host of local landmarks including the High Street and the Lock – although there is an air of mystery as to which Camden Town Catholic church allowed them to film scenes inside their doors, as they did it only on the condition of anonymity.
“Camden is a very film-friendly place,” says Maeve.
“If you are making a film about the Irish in London then Camden comes naturally, because of the area’s links to Ireland.”
As well as the hard-hitting back story, Beyond The Fire is a tragic love tale and is based on the same well-trodden path of her previous movies, namely the experience of a young Irish diaspora making it in London.
“There is actually very little about the London Irish experience in film,” says Maeve. “My first film, Amazing Grace, dealt with that but it was set during the Troubles. Now it’s in the past and this is more about the second generation and their contribution to the cultural life of London.”
Starring Scot Williams and Cara Seymour, we met a softly spoken and well-mannered former priest called Sheamy who is heading from the home country to London to track down a former family friend and mentor, Father Brendan. But things, of course, do not turn out quite how he expects and when Brendan’s whereabouts is not forthcoming, he finds sanctuary in the flat of the only other person he knows in town – musician, Rory.
This leads on to a passionate affair with Rory’s flatmate, the delightful Cara – but, as ever, the course of true love never runs smoothly as a horrible, secret past begins to emerge.
Sadly, you’ll all have to wait another month to check out the film for yourselves – its not released until mid-June. |
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