The Covid 19 pandemic had a massive impact on the lives of North Clare woman, Aoife Corry, and her American fiancé, Tom Jorgensen. On March 13, 2020, then American president Donald Trump signed an executive order which, among other things, made it impossible for the couple to return to America together for 14 long months. It was a time of great uncertainty for everyone, but also a time when creativity was almost forced to blossom.
Later this week, the world premier of Homestead, a film made by Aoife and Tom, will take place at the Los Angeles Irish Film Festival. The short horror film, which was shot over two days in Corofin in 2021, is a reflection of the isolation felt by so many people during those long days of lockdown.
“We were stuck. Trump signed an executive order which meant that we couldn’t go back to America at that time. We ended up in Ireland for 14 months,” Aoife told The Clare Champion.
“A few months before we were able to go back to America, we decided that we should do something creative with the time that we had in Ireland.
We were living in Ireland, in the homestead where my dad grew up. It’s a property that has been in our family for hundreds of years probably.
“Tom’s background is in horror film and so we took the opportunity to do something creative with our time in Clare. We shot it on a shoestring budget over two days. I think we cobbled together €700, drove my Polo up to Dublin to pick up the equipment, shot for two days, 14 hour shoots with my dad – who ended up on a roof at one stage waving at me.
“It was really lovely to do something creative where I could include my dad. In a previous play for the Corofin Dramatic Society, my mam Mags played a nun who had to exorcise me when I was possessed. In this movie, my dad plays the villain who is haunting me. So it was an interesting, full-circle moment. At one stage in the film, my dad was actually wearing the nuns costume that my mom used in the play.”
Aoife grew up performing in Clare, whether it be in the Liddy O’Reilly School of Speech and Drama, the Ennis School of Performing Arts or at the Corofin Dramatic Society, where she first took the stage at just 17 years of age.
“The Corofin Dramatic Society is a great place to learn the trade and it actually plays a big part in this film. James Cecil Raleigh, who played my brother in a play for the society years ago, he ended up being in the film as well,” she said.
“It definitely gave me a great spirit for touring and doing something a bit more professional than I was used to and doing something where I got to work with adults.”
With little time and resources at their disposal, the making of Homestead turned into a family affair, and the film very much centres around the eerie character played by Aoife’s father, Martin Corry.
“Tom has created a series of films. He shot another film when we first move in Los Angeles, of us moving out of Ireland. The next film will be something about a friend either moving into or out of an apartment,” said Aoife.
“So this is all connected to that series but also connected to the isolation we were feeling when we were stuck in Ireland during Covid.
“It was also inspired by the folklore of the area and that magical quality that you get from being in rural Clare. All of that came together and Tom wrote it [the script] from scratch.
“This was myself and Tom’s first time working together. It was fun and stressful, all of the above.
“It was a really great experience, it allowed me to work creatively with both my dad and Tom, and that was something that was really exciting.
“I got to see a completely different muscle being flexed by both of them. It was a really fulfilling experience. I think it has brough us all closer together.”
Tom, who works in computer game design as well as filmmaking, relished the opportunity to work with Aoife’s family.
“I’m very used to working with the bare minimum of resources and working with what is available. What was available during Covid was this feeling of isolation. There were those times during lockdown where you couldn’t go more than five miles away from your house. If you are out in the countryside, that means just wilderness. There was something incredibly isolating about that,” said Tom.
“Because of Covid we really had to be smart about the choices that we were making. We had to understand that we couldn’t drive to Dublin every day to get more gear. It was just the two of us making it, so we had to be very crafty and resourceful. That’s what you have to do when you have an idea and there are obstacles in the way.
“Working with Aoife’s family was so easy. I love Martin and Mags so much. When I am thinking about a new story that I want to tell, it usually comes to me in a single image. The entire genesis for this new film was Martin, who plays our creepy neighbour, and the image of him waving with a blank smile.
“But as far as working with the family, they were incredibly supportive. Martin gave his whole weekend to us and let us throw cloaks over his head and kept him up until all hours of the night. It was great to be able to show them something of what I do.”
After it’s premier in Los Angeles, the film will be released on Youtube on St Patrick’s Day, where anyone in Clare can view it for free.
“We are going to release the film on Youtube on March 17, mostly so that I can show everyone back home what dad did. But we will definitely be submitting it to more film festivals here in America. We are hoping to get it into as many festivals as we can. It was such a passion project for us that I just want as many people to see it as possible,” said Aoife.
“After we release it on Youtube, I don’t know what the plan will be after that. We’d love to bring it back to Clare for a showing at some stage if we could. We will show it where anybody wants to see it.”
Homestead tells the story of a young professional woman who inherits a picturesque Irish cottage from her grandfather and finds herself resisting powerful urges to stay there forever.
The movie is nine minutes in length and was produced by Aoife herself, edited by Kevin Cappiello with music by Dónal Rafferty.
Andrew Hamilton is a journalist, investigative reporter and blogger who has been working in the media in Ireland for the past 20 years. His areas of special interest include the environment, mental health and politics.