GALWAY FILM FLEADH NEWS – 14th July 2000

 

Yesterday Fleadh News had the pleasure to talk to Producer Fiona Bergin and Writer/Director Fintan Connolly who are at the Fleadh with what is without doubt the gutsiest feature in the programme. Flick explores the underbelly of modern Dublin, a world of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.

 

Q: Why not start with a short?

 

F.C: Well I had already produced a couple of shorts. I produced Horse, Kevin Liddy’s film, after seeing the time and effort that went into that I thought well, add another couple of weeks and maybe you could get a feature in the can.

 

F.B: Shorts don’t have much of a life, a couple of festivals maybe. With a feature you have the possibility of going further. We shot it in eighteen days anyway.

 

Q: Can you look at Flick objectively and say whether or not you’re happy with it?

 

F.B: Yeah, I’m delighted with it (laughs).

 

F.C: Shooting was pretty hectic so it wasn’t until we got into the edit suite that we could see the film’s potential. But the first time I saw it finished and on the big screen, thoughts of the shoot vanished and it was just there. Sometimes we have to ourselves and say; yeah, we really did do that

 

Q: Wasn’t it nerve-wracking, having never produced before?

 

F.B: No, because we got the money ourselves, set it up ourselves, so it was like let’s do it and if it’s no good we won’t fucking show it. We took it in stages. First the money, then the shoot, then the completion funding. So it was never this overwhelming task.

 

Q: What is an Irish movie?

 

F.B: An Irish movie is a film shot in Ireland by Irish people; that’s it. Different stories, different filmmakers.

 

F.C: Recently films here have become more urban, yes, but that’s not the new stereotype. You’ve got films like Flick, like Disco Pigs, then you’ve got Borstal Boy and Country. It’s a better time now to be making films than it was five years ago.

 

F.B: People are mad keen to work on pictures.

 

Q: What’s next?

 

F.B: We’ve got two other scripts at the moment. Making Flick this way was cool, but we’d like to pay people and ourselves. So our next picture will hopefully be modestly budgeted.

 

F.C: I do have another script called Bowsies which we’re trying to get funding for, a more expensive film…

 

F.B: Yeah, but if it doesn’t work out we’ll just fuck off and shoot the other one.

 

Q: Are you enjoying the Fleadh?

 

F.C: Yeah, it’s always great to be here and better to be here with Flick. The Dublin festival has kind of collapsed, it’s kind of lost. Cork is a good festival. We showed Flick there as well. But there’s something about Galway in the summer, I wish the weather was better though (laughter).

 

Q: Fiona, what’s your favourite movie?

 

F.B: Recently, probably Festen.

 

F.C: Yeah, Festen or Happiness. Have you seen Happiness?