Film Fleadh features tale of North Clare bachelor farmer

A UNIQUE and touching film about a lovelorn North Clare bachelor will be screened in Galway on Friday (July 8), as part of a retrospective on Danish documentarian, Jon Bang Carlsen. 

‘It’s Now or Never’ was shot on location in Ballyvaughan and Fanore in the mid-‘90s, with local residents taking the lead roles. Among them was Austin Deely of Feenagh, who reminisced this week with Mr Carlsen about his film début. 

The movie will be screened at the Pálás Cinema during the Galway Film Fleadh, and is part of a double bill. The other work is entitled, ‘My Irish Diary’ (Min Irske Dagbog). Also made in the ’90s, the short film follows six-year-old Hjalmar, who gradually comes to appreciate the strange language and weather, after his family moves to the Atlantic coast of Ireland. 

After the screening, there will be an opportunity to learn more about Mr Carlsen’s work and about the documentary form, through a Q&A led by Corofin-based flim-maker Tadhg O’Sullivan. The screening starts at 1pm and tickets will secure entry to the Q&A at 2.30pm. 

Another film by Jon Bang Carlsen, ‘The Banality of Grief’, will be screened at the Pálás at 3.30pm.

Bookings can be made on Galwayfilmfleadh.com.