Road to Sundance 2013: Irish Folk Furniture (short), directed by Tony Donoghue

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FILM. 
Irish Folk Furniture (Ireland) 2012. Commissioned as an animation (Irish Film Board: Frameworks Scheme) Selected as a documentary (Sundance) and playing in Shorts Program 5.

INSPIRATION 
I saw people in rural Ireland were still (even in 2010) discarding furniture that had been part of their family for up to 150 years. I decided to investigate this. The investigation showed that there was a strong historical association of this furniture with poverty and general hard times. 

The film is a piece of pure pro furniture propaganda: an attempt to show the beauty and social significance of this rural furniture.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR FILM? 
The people and their stories. I was shocked by the beauty of the personal histories associated with every single item.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO MAKE THE FILM? 
3 years. we restored 16 pieces of furniture and all of these needed 3-6 months to dry out before they could be worked on.

FUNDING
Irish Film Board Frameworks Animation Scheme.

MOST CHALLENGING PART 
Animation outdoors in the Irish weather. The Irish weather is so inconsistent and windy in that many shots took 4-5 days to get in the can.

HOW DID WE DEAL WITH THIS? 
Stuck with it till it was right.

IF FILMING AGAIN WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT? 
Probably not.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR YOUR FILM/ DISTRIBUTION/ HOPES? 
It has just started its festival life but so far has been selected for 37 festivals and screenings in 14 countries. Hopefully this run will continue.

I'd primarily like it to continue playing in small rural festivals and communities and hope it encourages other people to record their aunt, their granny, their neighbor talking about everyday life and events.

ADVICE FOR GETTING INTO SUNDANCE? 
Less than 1% of short film applicants succeeded in getting into Sundance this year (65 out of 8,102). I would say the most important thing is to be bold, brave and inventive in your filmmaking and to risk failure in your techniques and approach. I think mimicking what has gone before is of no interest to Sundance. I think Sundance is very interested in bold and inventive approaches to any subject . 

WATCH IRISH FOLK FURNITURE here: