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Author:
Rynagh O'Grady
Actress. Playwright. Director. Rynagh O'Grady is the president of the Dublin, Ireland chapter of Women In Film...
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Rynagh, an actress, playwright, and director, has appeared in numerous films: Widow’s Peak, Night Train, When Brendan met Trudy and A Love Divided. TV series and dramas include: Father Ted, The Lilac Bus, The Rector’s Wife and Tales out of School.
Her theatre work includes Philadelphia Here I Come!, Mamie Sighs, The Cavalcaders and St. Joan of the Stockyards.
She has directed the award-winning documentary Born Bolshie - A Portrait of Chloe Gibson, and made other successful documentaries such as the four part The Sound of Volcanoes.
In 2003 she wrote and directed the critically acclaimed play Keep Coming Back, which toured internationally and was nominated for A Fringe First Award at The Edinburgh Festival.
Rynagh is the president of the Dublin, Ireland chapter of Women In Film and TV.
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PULLING FOCUS: FRENCH FESTIVAL OF IRISH WOMEN'S FILMS
Following the success of the Irish chapter's festival of French Women's Films in October 2006 in Dublin, the reciprocal festival in Paris of Irish women's work took place September 29th, 2007.
The concept is driven by the goal of the Women In Film and Television International to promote and build a more cohesive film community in Europe, particularly among women filmmakers, and to promote pan-European productions by becoming familiar with each others work...and to strengthen the chapters and the bonds between them. Not incidentally it focuses the film communities on women in film.
The Festival of Irish Women’s Film was presented and organized by the Irish Chapter, headed by Rynagh O'Grady, in partnership with the chapter in Paris, headed by Laetitia Giansily. A large number of the audience were French film industry people unaware of the work of the chapters of Women In Film and unaware of the films.
The audiences were genuinely surprised and excited about seeing the work. Shown were HUSH-A-BYE BABY co-written and directed by Margo Harkin, DISCO PIGS by Kristen Sheridan, NORA by Pat Murphy, EXILE FILES by Geraldine Creed, SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY by Aisling Walsh, and BEES & BUTTERFLIES by Jenny Roche, SCARED AND PROFANE by Jennifer Keegan, BLESSED FRUIT by Orla Walsh, ODD SOCK by Collete Cullen. Pat Murphy, Geraldine Creed and Jenny Roche all attended and introduced their work.
The subject of Pat Murphy's NORA and Geraldine Creed’s EXILE FILES, which traces the trade and migration between Ireland and France from 1600 to 1815, have such strong Irish/French content, that the lack of a European distribution deal on these two especially was surprising to the industry people. All the films had had to be subtitled in French but they were all suitable for French release had that been an option.
A lot of new members for the Paris chapter were recruited during the day-long festival. Anne Anderson, the Irish Ambassador to France, spoke at the reception and gave both the festival and the organization her support. Sheila Pratschke the director of the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris where the festival was held was a major contributor to the day’s success.
What’s important to highlight is that it worked in all ways – important links were made, and bridges created, new members saw the benefits of joining forces with other women, important points were made, there was lots of food for thought about women and the film industry.
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