Silence (2012)

Eoghan is a sound recordist who is returning to Ireland for the first time in 15 years. His reason for returning is a job offer: to find and record places free from man-made sound. His ... See full summary »

Director:

Pat Collins

Writers:

Pat Collins, Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhríde (co-writer) (as Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhride)

Stars:

Andrew Bennett, Marie Coyne, Tommy Fahy

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Andrew Bennett	...	Barman
Marie Coyne	...	Herself
Tommy Fahy	...	Himself
Michael Harding	...	Local Man Ballycroy
Jens K. Müller	...	Himself
Pater Lacey	...	Himself
Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhríde	...	Eoghan Mac Suibhne (as Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhride)
Patrick O'Connor	...	Local Man the Buren
Hilary O'Shaughnessy	...	Girlfriend
Tim Robinson	...	Himself
Paul Rogers	...	Himself
Jordan Shields	...	Himself

Storyline

Eoghan is a sound recordist who is returning to Ireland for the first time in 15 years. His reason for returning is a job offer: to find and record places free from man-made sound. His quest takes him away from towns and villages into remote terrain. Throughout his journey, he is drawn into a series of encounters and conversations which gradually divert his attention towards a more intangible silence, one that is bound up with the sounds of the life he had left behind. Influenced by elements of folklore and archive, Silence unfolds with a quiet intensity, where poetic images reveal an absorbing meditation on themes relating to sound and silence, history, memory and exile.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Ireland Germany

Language:

English Irish

Release Date:

27 July 2012 (Ireland)

Filming Locations:

County Mayo, Ireland

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Caves
Performed & composed by Damian Valles
© Damian Valles

User Reviews

"Exceptional, poetic and cinematographic..."

Irish screenwriter, producer and director Pat Collins' debut feature film which he co-wrote with screenwriters Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhride and Sharon Whooley, premiered at the 10th Jameson Dublin International Film Festival in 2012, was shot on location in Ireland and is an Irish production which was produced by television and film producer Tina Moran. It tells the story about a man named Eoghan who lives in the capital city of Germany where he records sounds, and who after making the decision to continue his work elsewhere says goodbye to a woman he knows and sets out on a journey towards the province of Ulster in Ireland which is his homeland.

Distinctly and precisely directed by Irish filmmaker Pat Collins, this quietly paced and somewhat fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the main character's point of view, draws a perceptive and calmly engaging portrayal of an Irish sound recordist who leaves Berlin, Germany and returns to the country he left many years ago to record sounds which are not made by humans. While notable for its majestic milieu depictions, reverent cinematography by cinematographer Richard Kendrick, choice of location and use of sound, time, music, colors and archival footage, this character-driven story about peoples connection to places where documentary and fiction is eloquently incorporated, fragments of history recurs and a person who drives, walks, talks, contemplates and carefully listens to the wind, the birds, the trees, the waves and the people he encounters on his self-reflective pilgrimage, depicts a meditative and lingering study of character.

This observational and prominently reflective and atmospheric drama which is set mostly in Donegal, Ireland during a spring in the 21st century and where a man who seeks, is guided by and interprets sounds becomes drawn to his origins, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, subtle character development and continuity, distinct dialog scenes and the rare acting performance by Irish actor, screenwriter and director Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhride. An exceptional, poetic and cinematographic narrative feature which gained the Michael Dwyer Discovery Award Eoghan Giolla Bhride at the 10th Jameson Dublin Film Festival in 2012.