Youghal Filmmakers Screen At Cork Film Festival - Youghal Online

Youghal filmmakers Michael Twomey and Kieran McCarthy of Complete Control Films will have their new documentary Another Way Home screened at the 57th Corona Cork Film Festival. The film was selected for the Documentary Panorama section of the festival, which includes documentaries from around the world.

Another Way Home Trailer

Another Way Home?tells the story of how a mother withdrew her daughter from psychiatric care following years of institutional neglect and set up a support house for women caught up in the revolving door of mental health care. The Sl? Eile housing association in Charleville is currently home to five tenants who have opted to find an alternative route to mental well being other than readmission and medication dependency. Sl? Eile has been operating since 2005 and its aims are to give back some responsibility to the tenants and take charge of their own well being.

The house was not without controversy when it started in 2004. The group faced protests that lasted for nine months. Six years on from those tumultuous days finds Sl? Eile and its founder, Joan Hamilton looking to expand the operation and the search to secure a farm goes on. Director and Writer, Michael Twomey was intrigued by the story. ?I knew about Sl? Eile for a number of years but the idea for the film came about after a chance meeting with Joan. It has all the ingredients of a great human interest story, the determination, struggle and triumph of not just Joan but of the women that stay in the house is inspiring.?

Filming began in 2011 and the project was completed just over a year later. ?Filming is such a long process and there are different stages. There?s all the research, writing,?story-boarding,? emails, phone calls, visits, the actual filming and then editing in post production. I thought we had something special after we interviewed Joan and her husband Gerry because they came across so well, looked very good on screen and are very engaging,? he added. Interviewing the tenants was a challenge for the filmmakers as Michael explains. ?Those interviews were a lesson in themselves, we learned a lot from them. The women were so articulate but we were dealing with highly emotive stories and very intimate details about personal events. It?wasn?t?easy to be part of it at times. Overall, though it is very satisfying to hear about mental health from those who have experienced it rather than the usual list of medical experts and the economic data,? he said.

This is Complete Control Films? second documentary in as many years following the 2010 screening of Town Out Of Time and Michael believes that technology allows independents great scope for exposing such films to the general public. ?Kieran and I made both films without funding or assistance. It really amazes me that we made it into the festival because there are very few, if any at all, that are made without funding and quite a number have large budgets and big production values. We had a couple of cameras a computer and that was it. It took a lot of work to do everything by ourselves but that has its rewards in total artistic freedom and we made the film exactly the way we wanted it.

Technology allows people to be creative in a way that has been impossible previously and it makes creativity affordable. Most of the post-production was done in our kitchens and final touches completed at Shane Supple?s Blue Shed,? he said. The film is narrated by Academy Award Winner, Jeremy Irons and Michael believes they have been fortunate to secure such talents. ?Obviously it was great to get him because he has a globally recognized voice. It took a while to get him but we had a window of opportunity last August and visited him in his home near Ballydehob. It was a little surreal to have my script read out by him but we were also there to do a job and we took it very seriously.? Irish Broadcaster, Vincent Browne also features as does eminent psychiatrist, Ivor Browne. ?People were extraordinarily helpful to us and that was one of the aspects that will live long in the memory.

The internet allowed us to score the film with some excellent music by Chris Zabriskie who lives in California and who we are unlikely to ever meet but are indebted to for sharing his work while locally we found a real gem with Bobby Lee?s song ?Don?t Believe Your Eyes? while John Burke at Claycastle Studios gave us invaluable assistance with setting a real musical tone for the beginning of the film.? The film also contains a series of stark animations, drawn by Michael?s son, Nathan. ?Again, we were fortunate to find local talent. I was looking for a way to tie the story of Joan, the tenants, and mental health together and I asked Nathan to underscore the statistics with some drawings. We were delighted with the outcome, they add another layer to the telling of the story.?

So what next for Complete Control Films, another documentary on the horizon? ?Right now we are just enjoying the fun of being involved and busy trying to maximize the opportunity being part of the film festival and the Mental Health Conference affords. It?s been a year in the making so?we?ve?got post-production fatigue at the moment but there are always interesting topics and stories to be explored,? Michael added. Another Way Home will also be screened at the UCC Mental Health Conference on Tuesday, Nov. 14th where it will be viewed by many stakeholders in the mental health area.

While the film takes a sensitive approach its highly personalized content drew this comment from Cork Film Festival Director, Mick Hannigan: ?This touched me deeply. I would urge anyone with an interest in mental health to see it. it?s a great, moving story, and one set in Co. Cork. With Jeremy Irons narrating. Highly recommended.?

For further details on Complete Control Films and to view a trailer of Another Way Home visit www.completecontrolfilms.com.

Another Way Home will be screened at 12 noon Sunday 18th November at Triskel Christchuch, Cork.

To book online or read more details about the 57th Cork Corona Film Festival visit?www.corkfilmfest.org.

Source: http://www.youghalonline.com/2012/11/10/youghal-filmmakers-screen-cork-film-festival/

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