John Ford Ireland Film Symposium a massive success – VIDEO

Four day celebration of Irish American director “in the land that he wished that he had been born”

 McBride’s opening lecture – entitled ‘John Ford: Poet and Comedian’ – offered a take on Ford that examined his Irishness; his often cantankerous responses when probed by interviewers about his career and the use of comedy in this work to counterpoint tragedy. McBride commented that Ford seemed to “contrast the tragic with the ridiculous” all his life.

 Saturday’s highlights included the RTÉ Guide’s Michael Doherty In Conversation With… with Oscar-nominated director Stephen Frears (The Queen), in which the director discussed his work and early career and recalled his years filming ‘The Snapper’ and ‘The Van’ in Ireland.

 The day continued with a lively Writers Panel with screenwriters Colin Bateman (Divorcing Jack), Pat McCabe (The Butcher Boy), Ian Power (The Runway) and Eoghan Harris (Sharpe) as each writer discussed a series of chosen clips from Ford films.

 The near two-hour debate touched on Ford’s influence on modern cinema; the use of rhetoric in his films and screenwriting as an art form with Harris using the scene in which John Wayne’s Captain Brittles is presented with a watch in ‘She Wore a Yellow Ribbon’ to highlight Ford’s power at handling sentimentality between his male characters. Each of the writers were quick to praise Ford’s ability to tell his stories using images as opposed to dialogue and, as Power noted, at times “say so much using so few words”.

As screenwriting was debated at the Symposium, editing supremo and long-time Clint Eastwood collaborator Joel Cox (Million Dollar Baby/Gran Torino) then held a Masterclass in Dublin’s Project Arts Centre. The sold-out event, attended by a host of Irish and international editors, saw Cox discuss his working relationship with Eastwood and offer advice to would-be film editors.

The Symposium concluded last night with the Dublin premiere screening of Sé Merry Doyle’s ‘John Ford: Dreaming The Quiet Man’ and a 60th Anniversary screening of ‘The Quiet Man’ (presented in partnership with the IFI) as talk among the guests and attendees turned to next year’s event.

Set to be an annual event, the Symposium and celebration of Ford’s work will continue next year with plans already underway for the second edition of John Ford Ireland.

 Looking ahead to 2013, IFTA Chief Executive Áine Moriarty said: “The Academy is so proud that the John Ford Ireland Film Symposium will now be held in Ireland each year. The huge enthusiasm and high level of debate, discussion and re-engagement with Ford’s work over the past four-days has reemphasised the importance of learning from this master-filmmaker. The Academy would like to thank all the guests, attendees, Ford enthusiasts, filmmakers and film fans who helped make the first John Ford Ireland Film Symposium such a success.”

Here’s a promo video for the event -

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Nster.com