Padraig Trehy’s debut feature film, ‘Shem The Penman Sings Again’, will begin a limited theatrical run with a special screening in the IFI on January 13th – marking the 75th anniversary of the death of James Joyce, before going on to screen at the Triskel Christchurch in Cork, QFT Belfast and the Town Hall Theatre as part of the Galway Film Society’s January program. Access Cinema is also offering it to their members for 2016.
Film Ireland described the feature as “…innovative, highly imaginative, and impressively realized”, with the talent on-screen led by actors Frank Prendergast, Louis Lovett and Hugh O’Conor.
‘Shem’ creates a fictional archive of the famous friendship between writer James Joyce and tenor John McCormack. Through a combination of archive recordings and imaginary radio broadcasts, the narrative connects the actual friendship of Joyce and McCormack with the relationship between Shem the Penman and Shaun the Post in Finnegans Wake.
Following its world premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh last July, Shem’s Irish festival run culminated in a sell-out special screening in the Everyman Theatre as part of the 60th Cork Film Festival in November.
Produced by Rossa Mullin of Pooleen Productions, ‘Shem the Penman Sings Again’ was funded by the Irish Film Board. Crew members include DoP Eimear Ennis Graham, editor Tony Murphy and composer John O’Brien. The film was written by Trehy and Peter McCarthy.
Director Pádraig Trehy will do an intro and Q&A in Dublin, Cork and Galway.
Tickets can be booked for the IFI screening at http://www.ifi.ie/shem-the-penman.
Further details and trailer can be found at shemthepenman.com.
