King of the Travellers hits International Territories
To coincide with St. Patrick’s Day King of the Travellers has been released on multiple VOD platforms including iTunes across over 40 international territories including the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Israel and Singapore. Written and directed by Mark O’Connor and produced by Cormac Fox, the film is distributed by VOD aggregator Under The Milkyway.
The release is made possible with the financial support of the Irish Film Board (IFB) and IPEDA MUNDUS, a project funded by the MEDIA Programme of the European Commission to further international cooperation in the audiovisual field.
So I finally got around to updating my showreel. While I was happy with the one I had before, it was missing a lot of titles that I worked on in the last 3 years so a change was needed. Anyways here it is…
There I am in the edit suite…
If you want to talk about working together you can drop me a line at savejohnmurphy@gmail.com
Sundance finished over the weekend and among the Irish representation was Ciaran Cassidy’s film ‘The Last days of Peter Berrmann’ which I had the great pleasure of cutting last year. By all accounts the film went down really well over there and Ciaran was delighted with the response. Now, there is an opportunity for people in Dublin to see the film.
It plays this Thursday, Jan 30th as part of Futureshorts in the Freemasons Hall, 17-19 Molesworth Street Dublin from 7-10.
After the screening there will be a Q&A with director Ciaran Cassidy and my good self. God help us!
Ciaran Cassidy, Me and 2 guys who are very proud of their Renault Clio
Future Shorts is the largest short film network in the world and it is run in Dublin by Happenings and LeCool
The Winter Season they present to you has 6 films from France, Poland, Serbia, Finland & Afghanistan – it is going to be a truly international excursion into the world of shorts.
Emerge from the underground in search of a seed in Eduardo Williams’ “That I’m falling” I Que Je Tombe Tout le Temps (France, 2013), follow two Polish sisters while they seek out their mother in “Out of Reach” (Poland, 2011) by Jakub Stozek, and witness a rather unexpected incident at a convenience store in the animation “Blind Spot” (France, 2007). Directors Nedeljkovic & Majdak from Serbia take you on an extraordinary trip to Rabbitland (2012), while Jenny Toivoniemi shows you a date of a different kind in her film “The Date” (Finland, 2012) and finally Sam French invites you to join in the world of Afghanistan’s “Buzkhasi Boys” (Afghanistan, 2011) to see a different story of coming of age of two best friends.
I am absolutely delighted to say that the short film I cut earlier this year, The Last Days of Peter Bergmann has been selected for the Sundance Film Festival in January. The film was directed by Ciaran Cassidy, produced by Morgan Bushe for Fastnet Films, beautifully filmed by Kate McCullough and edited by my good self. The film had its world premiere at IFI Stranger Than Fiction this year, where it picked up the audience award for Best Short Film. The short film was funded under the IFB’s Reality Bites scheme and tells the story of a man calling himself Peter Bergmann who arrived in Sligo Town in the summer of 2009. Over his final three days, he went to great lengths to make sure that no one would ever know who he was or where he came from.
Being selected is a huge achievement for Ciaran. Only 66 shorts from over 8000 entries were selected and of those only 14 were short documentaries, so to be in that final 14 is massive. Personally it’s a huge thing for me to have a film I worked on screen at such a prestigious film festival. I’m also delighted for everyone involved, as it was a real delight to work on the film. Everyone involved, Morgan, Ciaran, Collie, Guillaume Eugene, Kate and the rest of the gang are all really good people to boot.
Here is the list of the other short documentaries, it includes some heavy hitters like Lucy Walker whose film The Crash Reel is long listed for the Oscar documentary award, Kevin Jerome Everson who has had several exhibitions of his works in top US Museums and star of community, comedian Danny Pudi who made an ESPN 30 for 30 short which was selected
Choreography / U.S.A. (Directors: David Redmon, Ashley Sabin) — Donkeys gaze at those who gaze at them.
Fe26 / U.S.A. (Director: Kevin Jerome Everson) — Two gentlemen make a living hustling metal in Cleveland, Ohio.
Godka Cirka (A Hole in the Sky) / Spain, France, U.S.A. (Directors: Alex Lora, Antonio Tibaldi) — Young Alifa looks up at the Somali sky and thinks about her daily life as a shepherdess. She knows the day that will change her life forever is about to come. http://vimeo.com/64763485
Hacked Circuit / U.S.A. (Director: Deborah Stratman) — This circular study of the Foley process portrays sound artists at work constructing complex layers of fabrication and imposition.
I Think This Is the Closest to How the Footage Looked / Israel (Directors: Yuval Hameiri, Michal Vaknin) — A man with poor means recreates a lost memory of the last day with his mom. Objects come to life in a desperate struggle to produce a single moment that is gone.
The Last Days of Peter Bergmann / Ireland (Director: Ciaran Cassidy) — In 2009, a man claiming to be from Austria arrived in the town of Sligo, Ireland. During his final days, Peter Bergmann went to great lengths to ensure no one ever discovered who he was and where he came from.
The Lion’s Mouth Opens / U.S.A. (Director: Lucy Walker) — A stunningly courageous young woman takes the boldest step imaginable, supported by her mother and loving friends.
Love. Love. Love. / Russia (Director: Sandhya Daisy Sundaram) — Every year, through the endless winters, her love takes new shapes and forms.
Notes on Blindness / United Kingdom, U.S.A., Australia (Directors: Peter Middleton, James Spinney) — In 1983, writer and theologian John Hull became blind. To help make sense of his loss, he began keeping an audio diary. Encompassing dreams, memories, and his imaginative life, Notes on Blindness immerses the viewer in Hull’s experience of blindness.
Of God and Dogs / Syrian Arab Republic (Director: Abounaddara Collective) — A young, free Syrian soldier confesses to killing a man he knew was innocent. He promises to take vengeance on the God who led him to commit the murder.
One Billion Rising / U.S.A. (Directors: Eve Ensler, Tony Stroebel) — In 2013, one billion women and men rose and shook the earth through dance to end violence against women in the biggest mass action ever. The event was a radical awakening of body and consciousness. This is what it looked like.
Remembering the Artist, Robert De Niro, Sr. / U.S.A. (Directors: Perri Peltz, Geeta Gandbhir) — Robert De Niro, Sr., was a figurative painter obscured by the powerful pop art movement. His work has returned to the spotlight because of his son, who happens to be one of the world’s most famous actors.
Tim and Susan Have Matching Handguns / U.S.A. (Director: Joe Callander) — Love is swapping clips with your spouse in the middle of a three-gun problem.
Untucked / U.S.A. (Director: Danny Pudi) — This documentary explores the iconic “untucked” jersey worn in 1977 when Marquette University won its first and only national college basketball championship. It was designed by one of Marquette’s players, Bo Ellis, under the fearless leadership of Coach Al McGuire.
The documentary Men At Lunch, which picked up an IFTA in 2013 as well as being released in theatres in Ireland and in the US, is finally available to own on DVD.
The film is available to buy in Ireland from Tesco, HMV, Golden Discs & online from CIC
The Irish version contains both an English language and Irish language version of the film and it would make a great Xmas present.
I was delighted to be involved with this film by doing some additional editing for the films US Cinema release, which happened this autumn. This is the version featured on the DVD.
The films screened in a pretty cool looking cinema. Located at 65 degrees North, the city is one of the northernmost larger cities in the world and is home to the world Air Guitar Championships.
Thanks to Men at Lunch director, Sean O’Cualain for sending on the pictures.
I had a great evening last Saturday at the IFI. The Last Days of Peter Bergmann was having its world premiere along with 3 other Irish Film Board Reality Bites short documentary films. Despite the program starting sufficiently late that we all could have seen the second half of the hurling, there was a great atmosphere in IFI’s Screen 1.
The 4 films that played were all excellent and indeed very different form each other. The talk afterwards was how rare it is to go to such an enjoyable shorts program, where you were treated to very different films and all made to a remarkable high standard.
The film I edited, The last days of Peter Bergmann(Director: Ciaran Cassidy) was up first and it went down superbly and everyone involved in the film was delighted with its reception.
followed by There’s No Charge for the Hat, directed by Tom Burke of Areaman Films
and then there was Emile Dineen’s Rebirth, which was really excellent and I think has the potential to do very well for Emile and it’s producer Aisling Ahmed, whom I enjoyed meeting and chatting to afterwards.
Finally, there was Keith Walsh’s funny and moving “Analogue People in a Digital Age” which brought the house down. I was delighted for my old college buddy Keith and his partner Jill.
Later on Stranger Than Fiction Festival director Ross Whitaker announced the winners of the shorts awards, which were judged from these films and a batch of ten films which had screened earlier in the day. We were all thrilled when “The Last Days of Peter Bergmann” was honoured with the Audience Award. The gong was voted by the public and came with a generous donation from Windmill Lane of €1500 worth of post production. A great prize and a perfect way to top a great screening. Furthermore I was delighted for my buddy Traolach who got a special mention from the jury for his film ‘Gordie’ as it continues its relentless pursuit of awards all over the world. The jury prize went to ‘Rebirth’ and I’m sure it won’t be the last prize it picks up. Here’s hoping Peter Bergmann isn’t finished winning either.
This saturday sees the world premiere of Ciaran Cassidy’s new film “The Last Days of Peter Bergmann” which I had the privilege to edit. I’m very excited to be part of this film as I think it’s something really special.
In advance of the premiere, here is the trailer for the film.
Peter Bergmann – a man who would go to great lengths to ensure no one would ever discover who he was or where he came from.
Fastnet Films 2013- Irish Film Board Reality Bites
Director: Ciaran Cassidy
Producer:Morgan Bushe
Director of Photography: Kate McCullough
Editor: John Murphy
Sound: Guillaume Beauron
Music: Jack Quilligan, David Cantan
Researcher: Colum McKeown
Prod Manager: Aoife McGonigal
So Dublin Editors is a new facebook page for post-production people based in Dublin and in Ireland in general. Setup just over 2 weeks ago, the page has gotten a great response with over 60 people signed up for it already. Who know there were so many of us?
Eventually the page will hopefully serve as a hub for the editing community in Dublin acting as a place to meet, to swap ideas, to post jobs, to ask for help. I think its a cool idea and one that should prove really useful on all those fronts.
The group organisers (who ARE those guys?) is holding a get together this Thursday at 6:30 in McGrattans bar, off Baggot Street in Dublin. I am certainly looking forward to attending and meeting some of my editing colleagues. Editing is more often than not a solitary job and it’ll be cool to finally meet people whom I only know by name. So that’ll be great.
You can keep updated on the group on their facebook page here
I’m also looking forward to meeting the mysterious people behind the page. Whoever they are I’m betting at least one of them is rocking a pretty cool beard. Just saying…
Earlier this year the film King of the Travellers was released nationwide here in Ireland and in the UK. The release in the Uk meant that the film was reviewed in some of the biggest media outlets in the movie business. Seeing the film reviewed in all the big uk papers was very cool, especially being one of the last films Philip French reviewed in the Observer. As a very big film buff growing up, this meant a huge amount to that part of my make-up. The coolest thing of all though was seeing my name printed in ‘Sight And Sound’ Magazine, the long running BFI monthly magazine. I was really thrilled with it.
John Murphy 