Neasa Ní Chianáin

Neasa Ní Chianáin is an Irish documentary filmmaker, best known for her 2007 film Fairytale of Kathmandu.

Neasa Ní Chianáin
Bornc. 1975
NationalityIrish
OccupationDocumentary filmmaker
Years activeFrom 2001
Notable work
Fairytale of Kathmandu

Biography

Ní Chianáin [1] studied at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. She worked as freelance art director on several Irish feature film and television projects, such as All Soul’s Day, Angela’s Ashes and A Love Divided, and also on the BBC TV series Rebel Heart.

Her first documentary was No Man’s Land (2001), about the asylum process in Ireland. Her more recent productions have included Frank Ned & Busy Lizzie (2004), Fairytale of Kathmandu (2007), The Stranger (2014) and School Life (2016). In Loco Parentis/School Life premiered at IDFA 2016, and was thereafter invited to Sundance Film Festival 2017, and other international film festivals, at several of which it has won awards. Fairytale of Kathmandu also premiered at IDFA 2007, and was invited to over 30 other international film festivals.

Since 2006, Neasa has been co-director of the Guth Gafa International Documentary Film Festival, Gortahork, County Donegal.[2]

She is a mother of two, and lives with her partner David Rane.

Selected filmography

Fairytale of Kathmandu
Main article: Fairytale of Kathmandu

'Fairytale of Kathmandu' has been much acclaimed, and won several awards, including Documenta Madrid, Ourense and the Barcelona International Gay and Lesbian Festival.[3] Fairytale of Kathmandu questioned whether poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh's sexual relationships with young Nepalese boys in Kathmandu were proper or improper. The boys were aged between 16 and 18 at the time of filming, and Ó Searcaigh was over 50. According to Variety, the film raised questions about "power, money and what constitutes coercion".[4] The Irish Examiner newspaper said that Ní Chianáin as a 'whistleblower' paid a high price for questioning Ó Searcaigh's behaviour in Kathamandu.[5]

The Stranger

The Stranger explores the story of Neal MacGregor. He was an Englishman who in the 1960s had studied cabinetry, jewelry and silver design in London, and had worked for the interior designer Anthony Redmile, and had married. Then, without explanation, he relocated on his own to Inishbofin, a tiny island off the extreme north-west coast of County Donegal. (One person who knew MacGregor in the 1960s has suggested that MacGregor had had a bad acid trip during one of the Isle of Wight Festivals.) On Inishbofin, he lived in an abandoned stone hen house, too small to stand up in, without water, gas or electricity. While there, he made things with his hands: such as a grandfather clock, a windmill, and his own fishing nets and hooks. He wrote diaries. He and a local woman, Mary, formed a relationship. They grew their own vegetables, and stayed on the island during the winter, a season during which other locals returned to the mainland. There were rumours that he was a spy, or perhaps something worse. He died suddenly in 1990, from a heart attack, at the age of 43 or 44.[6][7][8][9][10]

In Loco Parentis/School Life

In Loco Parentis (name changed to School Life for US cinema release) is a feature documentary that had its world premiere in Competition at IDFA, the largest documentary film festival in the world, and then had its North American premiere in the World Cinema Documentary competition at Sundance in January 2017. The film, shot observationally (or 'fly-on-the-wall' style) explores a year in the life of Headfort School, the last remaining boarding school for primary age (7 to 13) children in Ireland. This charming, humorous and award-winning documentary focuses on John and Amanda Leyden, who throughout their long careers at Headfort school have become legends in their own right. This warm and affectionate portrait places childhood center stage and celebrates the joy and power of teaching. The film was acquired after Sundance by Magnolia Pictures. It has screened at many international festivals and won awards at San Francisco International Film Festival (Special Jury Prize) and Visions du Réel (Prix du Public / Audience Award).[11]

Awards
YearWorkEventNominationResultReferences
2004 Frank Ned & Busy Lizzie Celtic Film and Television Festival Bronze Torc Award Won [12]
2008 Fairytale of Kathmandu Barcelona International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Jury Award Won [12]
2008 Fairytale of Kathmandu Documenta Madrid Best Documentary Second place [12]
2008 Fairytale of Kathmandu Festival de cine internacional de Orense Best Director (Jury Prize) Won [12]
2009 Fairytale of Kathmandu Irish Film and Television Awards Irish Language Award Special award [12]
2014 The Stranger Locarno International Film Festival Critics Week Award Nominated [12]
2016 School Life Irish Film and Television Awards Best Feature Documentary Award Nominated [12]
2016 School Life Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize Nominated [12]
2016 School Life San Francisco International Film Festival Golden Gate Award Special Jury Prize Won [12]
2016 School Life Visions du Réel Prix du Public Best Film Grand Angle Won [12]

References
  1. Ní is an Irish surname prefix meaning "daughter of", as Ó means "son of".
  2. "Neasa Ni Chianain". pardolive.ch. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  3. "Fairytale of Kathmandu - Awards". IMDb.
  4. Anderson, John (14 December 2007). "Fairytale of Kathmandu". Variety.
  5. White, Victoria (29 November 2012). "A high price to pay for revealing documentary on noted poet". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  6. "Unravelling the Mysterious Hermit's Story". clarechampion.ie. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  7. "IFI Ireland on Sunday Interview: Neasa Ní Chianáin, director of 'The Stranger'". filmireland.net. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  8. "The Stranger". European Documentary Network. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  9. "The Stranger". Celtic Media Festival. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  10. Weissberg, Jay. "Film Review: 'The Stranger'". Variety. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  11. "School Life - Awards". IMDb.
  12. Neasa Ní Chianáin at IMDb
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