Growing up in rural Ireland gives you an appreciation for
the rawness of nature. And the people who have always lived there have always
had to work far harder to put food on their table. To portray
the harshness involved the piece needed to show true hands on life experience.
No polished HD camera would show the grittiness required so I went with super
8mm.
I also made a decision that this piece would be purely
about the visuals, so no additional dialogue was recorded. The content would speak
for itself.
The challenge was finding the reality. The currach (handmade
irish boat) can still be found in the west, but they are becoming rarer as are
simpler fishing tools.
I was prepared that the main obstacle would be shooting
in conditions that fishermen faced everyday, heavy weather and being in open
water. However the gods smiled on me that day.
As a documentary filmmaker I want to show things how they
are, how they are seen by the people who witness them every day. While documentary
harbours a power for manipulation, its beauty is in the real. When there is so
much excitement, beauty and story around why twist it?
