This is an exciting time for Irish filmmakers abroad. With more Irish Oscar nominations than ever before, this year there has been a surge in interest in home-grown talent. Capitalising on this, DU Film Society ran a two-day event featuring lectures and discussion panels with a series of prominent professionals in the Irish film industry. Without question, the star of the event was Oscar-nominated film producer and Trinity graduate, Ed Guiney. Guiney’s credits include The Magdalene Sisters, Adam & Paul, The Guard, What Richard Did, The Lobster, and, of course, the film that has garnered global acclaim, Room.
For reasons that were undisclosed, but that were presumably linked to the hectic nature of the awards season, Room’s director Lenny Abrahamson unfortunately had to pull out of the event. This meant that, although there were several highly successful speakers, Guiney was, without question, the most well known.
As the small-statured and soft-spoken man sat before the eager film enthusiasts that filled Trinity’s Samuel Beckett Theatre, the anticipation was quickly replaced with a relaxed and even cheerful atmosphere. Guiney shared the story of how he and Abrahamson set up DU Film Soc while they studied in the college. He talked of his television successes from Bachelor’s Walk to Red Rock. He then proceeded to reminisce about early work with an old colleague and fellow speaker Donald Taylor Black, as well as entering an open discussion with the audience of young filmmakers and enthusiasts. His eagerness to engage with those who had come to speak with him did not end there, as he stood outside the theatre chatting to students long after his interview had ended.
Guiney talked ceaselessly of how, relatively speaking, easy it is to “be in the film business”, yet how difficult it is to be truly successful. Ambition, he said was the only thing needed to make it, and he spoke of persistence and unflinching hard work as being the keys to success. Just being talented isn’t enough, according to Guiney. Despite his obvious talent and love of film, he cites fear of failure and limited work as his real motivation for getting out of bed every morning and producing the excellent films he is involved with.
Questions of “But how do I make it in the film Industry?” were continually posed to Guiney, but quickly became tiresome for the audience. Guiney did not hesitate to reiterate that if you want to be a filmmaker you simply have to get out there and make films, get working and get your work seen.
Guiney graciously described some of the factors that have contributed to his incredible filmography, his enduring friendship with Lenny Abrahamson being one of them. He talked of always having solid working relationships with his friends based largely on mutual respect, the relationship has lead to the runaway success of Room, a film Guiney stated he believes to be Abrahamson’s finest work. Ultimately, he spoke eloquently and energetically for ten o’clock on a Saturday morning. Indeed, Guiney is certainly not about to rest on his laurels, his hunger to keep making more films as evident and inspiring as his absolute love of the art of film-making itself.
