Sé Merry Doyle brings his latest documentary feature, Talking to My Father, exclusively to the IFI, focusing on one of modern Irish architecture’s most celebrated figures, Robin Walker, through his son Simon’s exploration of the legacy of his work.
Robin Walker studied under Le Corbusier and later worked alongside Mies van der Rohe in Chicago. Upon his return to Ireland he became a key agent in the shaping of the emerging modern nation.
Looking again to Dublin’s streets which he has so faithfully recorded in earlier works (James Gandon, A Life; Alive, Alive Oh!), Sé Merry Doyle follows Simon, a quarter of a century after Robin’s death, as he explores his father’s legacy, allowing Walker’s buildings to speak for themselves and taking us with Simon in his search for Robin’s architecture of place.
Talking to My Father was made under the Reel Art Scheme – an initiative of The Arts Council, Dublin International Film Festival and Filmbase. The film played JDIFF earlier this year and screens at ADFF (Architecture & Design Film Festival), New York in October.
Sé Merry Doyle established Loopline Films as a force in documentary production in 1993. His first major work, a film on Ireland’s most famous architect in James Gandon – A Life, became a critical success. He followed this with a highly personal film, Alive Alive O – A Requiem for Dublin, which follows the plight of Dublin’s street traders as the scourge of heroin and the onslaught of commercialism destroy their culture, and features poems by Paula Meehan. Other work includes Patrick Scott – Golden Boy, a portrait of one of Ireland’s most famous living artists; the award-winning Patrick Kavanagh – No Man’s Fool, a celebration of the poet’s centenary; Jimmy Murakami – Non Alien, a documentary on renowned animator Jimmy Murakami; and John Ford – Dreaming the Quiet Man, focussing on John Ford’s 20-year quest to make his most personal film, narrated by Gabriel Byrne.
Tickets for this screening + Q&A are available now from the IFI Box Office on 01 679 3477 or online at www.ifi.ie. Tickets for the film’s IFI release from October 16th will be available from Monday, October 12th.