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Docs Ireland · 2023

Docs Ireland 2023

Pull Focus Competition

Programme

11 films · 5 reviews

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Afghanistan

A filmmaker and former British Royal Marine commando, who was decorated for his actions in combat, returns to Afghanistan with a small team to help him answer the question that has haunted him for ten years. Was it worth it?

(Country: Afghanistan, UK, Ireland; Year: 2023; Director: Martin Stalker, James Glancy; Stars: James Glancy)

The Artist And The Wall Of Death

Review preview for The Artist And The Wall Of Death

Whilst it has the potential to be an interesting character study, it never gets that deep.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
The unlikely story of a Glaswegian visual artist, Stephen Skrynka, and his dangerous life-long obsession with riding the 'Wall of Death', the traditional fairground motorbike attraction.

(Country: Ireland, UK; Year: 2022; Director: Maurice O'Brien; Stars: Stephen Skrynka)

Full review

Atomic Hope

Review preview for Atomic Hope

Atomic Hope is intriguing as a portrait of a movement, but falls well short as an interrogation of a scientific proposition.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
Is nuclear energy the solution to the climate crisis? Whether it is the only carbon-neutral technology capable of tackling the crisis or a fatally convenient stopgap, time is running out.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2022; Director: Frankie Fenton; Writer: Frankie Fenton; Stars: Madison Czerwinski, Ben Heard, Moto-Yasu Kinoshita, John Kutsch, Eric Glen Meyer, Iida Ruishalme)

Full review

The Future Tense

A meditation on being Irish in England.

(Country: Ireland, UK; Year: 2022; Director: Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy)

In The Shadow Of Beirut

A portrait of the city of Beirut as it rests on the brink of financial crisis, told through four intersecting stories.

(Country: Lebanon, UK, Ireland; Year: 2023; Director: Garry Keane, Stephen Gerard Kelly)

I Must Away

Floating between Ireland, Spain, Chile, Sweden, France and Bangladesh over seven years, this documentary follows four migrants who have each left home to rebuild their lives abroad.

(Year: 2023; Director: Dennis Harvey)

The Lost Boys: Belfast's Missing Children (Gone: The Lost Boys Of Belfast)

In November 1974, as civil unrest took hold in Northern Ireland, two young boys on their way to school disappeared from a busy street in Belfast. They were never seen again.

(Country: UK; Year: 2020; Director: Des Henderson; Writer: Des Henderson)

Notes From Sheepland

Review preview for Notes From Sheepland

There’s an organic quality to it, like something knitted together intentionally yet with varicoloured wool so that the eventual outcome could not be fully anticipated.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A portrait of artist Orla Barry, who returned to Ireland after many years working in Brussels, planning to do a bit of sheep farming on the side, and fell in love with the sheep.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2023; Director: Cara Holmes; Stars: Orla Barry)

Full review See: Interview with Cara Holmes and Orla Barry about Notes From Sheepland

O Bheéal

A cinematic exploration of the rise of hip hop and electronic artists in Ireland embracing oral traditions of folklore, ancient poetry and sean nós singing to create a new fusion sound.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2023; Director: Ciara Nic Chormaic)

Stolen

Review preview for Stolen

A difficult watch but compelling nonetheless, and an important contribution to the record.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
An investigation of the horrific discovery of the bodies of 796 mothers and babies in Tuam, seeking to establish exactly what happened and why.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2023; Director: Margo Harkin)

Full review See: Interview with Margo Harkin about Stolen