One Night in Cork Film Spotlight
Today’s film spotlight focuses on the short film One Night in Cork directed by Daniel Heaphy.
What is the title of your film and what inspired said title?
The title of the film is “One Night in Cork”. While it isn’t entirely set at night, the most crucial parts of the film that really hammer home it’s central themes take place between two characters at night. Plus, the film really captures the beauty of Cork, and I wanted to honour that by making sure Cork was featured in the title!
Tell us a little bit about the story and origins of your film.
The story follows the relationship between two young people in Cork, Cillian and Orla, who meet online during the COVID-19 pandemic. When Orla is forced to isolate on the eve of their first date, Cillian takes her around Cork City via a FaceTime call. Along the way they form a strong connection, as they begin to open up to one another about their fears and dreams, in the midst of a pandemic.
It’s a timely piece, with messages I think a lot of people need to hear in this day and age.
Any films or filmmakers that inspired this film?
I was really inspired by films such as “The Spectacular Now,” “The Fault in Our Stars,” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” With each of these films, they take young people, and what might seem like another young-adult coming of age film and add a great deal of universal themes and topical issues.
While the film has a youthful feel, I really wanted to take a leaf out of those films, and create something that could be widely accessible. Cillian and Orla are very much the every person in the pandemic, so hopefully they are relatable to audiences.
What is the goal of the film for you?
My goal, as with every film I work on, is for people to see it and enjoy it! Though it’s an upsetting time the characters are living through, as viewers will surely recognise, I hope people can walk away feeling a little more hopeful and optimistic.
What has the journey been like getting the film into production?
Working on One Night was an amazing experience. I collaborated mostly with Adam Twomey and Patrick DeCastro, who are both extremely talented Cork-based videographers. Me and Adam spoke often in the weeks prior to production on developing a short-film and thus One Night was eventually born. Chris Ledwidge supplied the film with an amazing score, whilst there are also a selection of extraordinary Irish musicians featured on the soundtrack including Stuart Keating, Ian Mocha Moloney, Alison Quigley, Christopher Hockey, Morning Medicine & Chapter 3. Getting all these people involved in my vision was an enormous pleasure. Furthermore, getting to work with Lucy Cooney who plays Orla was a joy. We were able to bounce off each other quite a bit, and had a lot of fun bringing these characters to life – even if it was over Zoom!
Production in a pandemic is never easy but having a good team is definitely half the battle.
One thing you learned from this project?
That if you want to make something enough, you really just got to go out there and make it! Having a team that you work well with and that you like is key.
Also, the film was selected for the IndieCork Film Festival. The world of film festivals was not something I’d any experience with prior, so it was a fantastic learning experience.
How can folks find you and your film online?
One Night in Cork is available to watch now on Vimeo.
Any last pieces of advice for fellow filmmakers?
Go out there and do it! Too often the fear of embarrassment and failure can take a hold, particularly if you’re working on something more intricate then you’re used to. But, it’s all an experience. Any mistakes you make on your current project, is one less mistake you’ll make on whatever you decide to do next.
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