I find it hard as well. There’s definitely an obsession with the signifiers of Irishness, amongst emigrants and at home. The Tayto crisps sort of thing.
There was an Irish Times competition last year where you had to say what it meant to be Irish, and all the ones they chose… maybe I’m just bitter because I thought I had a good one, but people are defining themselves by tea bags. Drinking tea is not an exclusively Irish thing. English people have a strong claim on tea too. It might be Tetleys, which is an inferior brand or whatever, but still, they had it before us, probably. Flag-waving can be the refuge of the spa, I think.
The film touches on this, but do you think there’s a problem with resentment of emigrants? With social networks, everyone always points out that it’s easier to leave your family, but what does that mean for those who stay behind?
It’s a personal thing. People don’t go around in public giving out about it. I don’t think at this stage you can blame anyone. I left in 2010 and thought I was leaving it late compared to some people around me. And it doesn’t feel like the airport run has lessened since then. They laud people for saying, you know, because you’re still in Ireland doesn’t mean you’re a failure. But it’s important to remember that just because you’ve moved away to Australia or wherever, doesn’t mean you’re a success.
Can you tell me about the company you made the film with?
Yeah it’s Kathryn Kennedy Films. She was a few years above me in IADT. She worked for Antidote, who are an ad company, and this was the first thing she made with her own company. She didn’t have to do it. I’m grateful. She’s trying to make a feature with Simon Fitzmaurice, who’s a director who had films in Sundance, but he’s got motor neuron disease. He’s got a load of kids, so he’s working on a deadline. I’m grand, I’ll make a few shorts this year, hopefully a few commercials, but that’s a film that has to be made. She’s also doing a short for Kevin Lehane, the guy who made Grabbers.
What does ‘Just Saying’ mean to you, both on a personal level and professionally?
They’re tied together. If I’d made it and it got 5,000 views, then that would have been grand. I would’ve known I’d made it, and that would’ve been grand. Now it’s a weird position. I feel like it redeemed last year almost, because last year I didn’t make a whole lot, and you have to be making things all the time. It not only ended last year well, it started this one off well too and opened a lot of doors. People are paying attention to me now.
Anything else to add?
I’m very grateful to the crew and to Emmet, who did it for 100 quid and two tickets to Action Bronson. People talk about low budget films and look at this as if it’s a model – it’s not a model. This cost under 2000 euro to make, but I don’t want to do it again. I want to pay Emmet and the crew properly. It should cost much more than that. If you have to do it, then that’s grand, but it’s not a way to make a film. Hopefully I can get some work now and get a lot of them back. I don’t want to just do ten crowdfunded shorts, you know?
