When I was 14 me and my cousins discovered the super 8 camera my dad and uncles had hidden away in a drawer and we began to make movies

It was then that I got the bug and I haven’t really had a pause since .

I finished school and went to film college in dun laoghaire school of art and design which was a huge boon for my creative senses, I was fully hooked now on everything film !!

I left college in the summer of 1993 and I was into the real world of filmmaking which I realised in Dublin was great but didn’t allow me to get the work I wanted because of the unions so I got a break due to my college friends directing in commercials in london and off I went to the big city in 1998 and that was a big moment in my career as I realised there was lots of opportunity and excitement in London.

I spent a year or two working with my 3 pals from Ireland on many high end commercials which looked upon us as a motley crew to say the least ! But me, billy o Brien , Alan Friel and Darran Tiernan got the job done !!!

This was 2002 and I was still very much interested in films , stories and making films

So I was shooting lots of shorts and this is where I got to meet Andrea Arnold and collaborate on her short film wasp which went on to win an Oscar in 2003 . This I now realise was a very important turning point for my career as me and andrea worked together and went on a journey together discovering our language in filmmaking and got to make great films together including red road / fish tank/ Wuthering heights and American honey .

This collaboration helped me connect with other directors such as ken loach who I’ve made 4 films with including I daniel Blake which won the Cannes Palme d’or in 2016 and Yorgos lanthimos who I got to work with on the favourite which was nominated for many awards and got me a trip to the oscars in 2018 ! You have got to try everything once !

I love making films it is the most enriching thing I can imagine in life and it has led me to many fantastic adventures with so many great people whilst enriching my life so much .

The Bsc are a family that have inspired me and welcomed me to their tight nit group of fantastic filmmakers , the Bsc history is legendary I am honoured to be considered one of its members

It’s over ten years since I joined on the proposing of john de Boorman and sue Gibson both wonderful creative people.

I wish to do this till the day I cant anymore !

 

Films I like ive been involved with

1 . Fish tank / red road / Wuthering heights / American honey ... Andrea Arnold

2 . The favourite ... Yorgos lanthimos 2018

3 the angels share/ jimmys hall / I daniel Blake / sorry we misssed you... ken loach

1. Slow west ... 2015... . dir. john McLean
2. Catch me daddy ... 2014..dir daniel and Matthew Wolfe
3. Marriage story/ the meyerowitz stories .... dir. noah baumbach
4. Ginger and Rosa..... 2013.... dir sally potter
5. Philomena 2014..... dir Stephen Frears

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad