The Film Scene is launching its first publication, ‘The Film Zine’, on 22nd January. An audio-visual publication, its debut will host a whole scope of mediums – films, spoken word, animation, portraits – which riff on themes of identity and memory within, and beyond, Ireland. The Film Scene, a monthly networking event for student filmmakers to showcase their work, is the brainchild of Hannah-Kate Ní Shioradáin, who founded it in 2018 to rectify a lack of platforms available to student filmmakers. Since then, it has been described as ‘Dublin’s next great success’ (Trinity News, 2019), and ‘an integral part of the student filmmaking community in Dublin’ (Trinity Film Review, 2018). I interviewed Hannah-Kate about the upcoming project, and we talked about the exciting nature of non-traditional publications, the role of platforms to nurture artists, and aspirations for the zine’s future.
You founded The Film Scene in 2018 – can you say a little bit about what led you to found it in the first place?
I had worked on this short student film in my first year (doing the film score; that’s my niche in filmmaking!) and we had put all this work into it, and then of course it was submitted to festivals but it didn’t get in anywhere – which isn’t indicative of the film itself but of student filmmaking in general. It’s very difficult to get into festivals when you’re starting out, and the only screening the film got was in the director’s living room with the cast and crew. As a musician, I remembered being somewhat dismayed as it is so easy for me to get up at an open mic night or at a battle of the bands and to have an audience for my work, and I realised that filmmakers don’t have that same stage. So that led to its formation. I study Film (and English literature) here in Trinity as well so I knew all these people who were writing scripts but had little means to make their films – as Trinity film is very strong in script writing (just look at which college wins all the scriptwriting awards at the Smedias) but lacking in cinematography – but students in IADT for example had all the skills the Trinity needed and vice versa. So it made sense that there was an inter-college platform for all of us to network – not only for our time as students but for our greater careers as this industry is very often about who you know. So a lot of that was simmering in my head!
Has it grown according to what you’d hoped?
It has grown beyond what I expected. It really did turn into a proper networking night. I know people who have gotten jobs (myself included) from the event and there was even a film that was screened in our second year which had a crew derived from people they had met at the event!
As much as I hate most things being dragged back into the sinkhole that is Covid-19 – what role do you think creativity has had in these ‘unprecedented times’?
I think being creative has served an important function for a lot of people since March but at the same time, I don’t think creativity is the be all and end all at the moment. It is so difficult to create in this climate and I think just getting to the other side of this whole pandemic is the most important thing for people.
The variety of mediums you cover in the call for submissions is huge! I’m interested in the emphasis placed on its non-traditional publication. Do you think creative industries/outlets should place more weight on more innovative and mixed media?
It isn’t really for me to say what others should be doing but I know that that’s what I want to do! Mixed media is so present in our everyday lives with the prevalence of social media that it really surprises me that so few publications are incorporating them. I really wanted to push what couldn’t traditionally be published on paper so we actually have cover art that is several different forms of art incorporated into a video. I composed the music for the cover art and it was honestly somewhat surreal to say that that was what I was doing. I want to evoke senses beyond the visual. To hear a poet speak their own poem, for example, gives it a new dimension and gives the words on a page new meaning. Though films may be our root, filmmaking is a collaboration of cinematography, art, writing, music et cetera, so in a time where we can’t come together to make films, why not celebrate all these different elements in one publication.
On a more whimsical, or personal note – do you have any particular highlights from the previous years’ Film Scene?
My favourite thing about every night we held the Film Scene was how excited each director was to screen their film! It was quite often the first place that most directors had that opportunity so there was always a buzzing atmosphere and I really miss that.
Do you think the ‘non-competitive’ atmosphere is important as well?
Oh absolutely! There’s no pitting yourself against other people to win the best film – it’s just a screening for people to appreciate and to learn from each other. We would do a Q&A after each film with each director where the audience, which would consist of both filmmakers and film lovers, could ask questions. It was really helpful because you could learn from other people – what went wrong and how did you fix it, what went right and how did you do that. I think with The Film Zine, it was more competitive as we received so many submissions and unfortunately had to turn people away (which I absolutely hate) because of the sheer volume.
Do you see the zine growing to different platforms and mediums – how do you see its ‘legacy’?
I would love to curate an entire exhibition with the type of content we received but of course, that isn’t possible with the pandemic. My hope for our next issue is to open to recent graduates as well. Hopefully, I can secure some funding for it so it can get bigger and bigger and then the sky is the limit! In regards to legacy, I’m a firm believer of living in the moment. The publication is a reflection on this moment in time and if that lends itself to a bigger legacy, that’s great but my goal is to give artists a platform now. If I can make one artist happy (and we already have as seen with some of the email replies we received from people having been accepted into the publication), then I’m happy.
Finally – getting involved in creative pursuits, although often touted as primarily enriching and exciting, can also be daunting! Do you have any words of wisdom for people wanting to give poetry, prose, film making – whatever it might be – a go?
I started The Film Scene as a dewy eyed second year with absolutely no idea what I was doing so all I’ll say is just do it! There’s no right or wrong when it comes to creating, no matter what medium. The best thing you can do is give it a go.
The Film Zine launches online on 22nd January. Find it online at: http://thefilmscene.ie/the-film-zine-issue-1/
