OÍCHE NOLLAIG na mban/womens’ christmas night
Short Film
5 minutes
Inspired by Seán Ó Ríordáin’s celebrated Irish poem and working with a schoolgirl choir and inter-generational cast of female performers, this film offers a visually arresting vision of Women’s Christmas Night.
OÍCHE NOLLAIG NA MBAN was commissioned by the Arts Council of Ireland and TG4 for a special season of Splanc! to celebrate a centenary of art since 1916. It premiered at the Irish Film Institute in March 2016 and was broadcast on TG4. It continues to screen world-wide in festivals, curated exhibitions and events.
Written, directed and produced by Oonagh Kearney for Tyrella Pictures, 2016.
Funded by TG4, the Arts Council of Ireland and Galway Film Centre with additional support from Cork City Council.
Please see IMDB for full cast and crew.
WINNER
Best Irish Short Film, OFFline Film Festival, 2016
Audience Award, OFFline Film Festival, 2016
Best ‘Made in Cork' Short Film, Cork International Film Festival, 2016
Best Short-Short Film, St Louis International Film Festival, 2016
Best Film, Bucharest International Dance Film Festival, 2016
Best Experimental & Best Cork Short Film, Fastnet Film Festival, 2017
Best Video Dance, Fiver Screendance International Film Festival, Spain 2017
NOMINATED
Best Producer (Oonagh Kearney), Underwire Film Festival, London, 2016
Best Experimental, Salute Your Shorts Film Festival LA, 2019
REVIEWS
“Kearney’s installation offers an insightful vision of a feminist reawakening in our country. OÍCHE NOLLAIG NA MBAN brings a new feminist meaning to the poem, with visual interpretations of the death of patriarchal governance by a forceful, female independence.”
Dispatch Review by Elly Collins, 2016
“A standout in the first iteration of ‘The Wild’ is Oonagh Kearney’s film OÍCHE NOLLAIG NA MBAN (2016). Based on an Irish language poem of the same name by Sean O’Ríordáin, in which the poet describes a storm of energy eruption on the night of Women’s Christmas (traditionally celebrated on 6th January), Kearney conveys a vibrant, irreverent, revolutionary vitality that won’t be suppressed - a perfect birthday present for Project.”
Frieze Review by Gemma Tipton, 2017