Award winning* short documentary about Eddie Lenihan, a Seanchaí (storyteller) from Co. Clare.
dir: James Slattery (2008)
duration: 10 minutes
aspect ratio: 16:9 (widescreen)
For more on Eddie and his stories, visit: www.eddieleniha...
* Recipient of Skillset Academy's 'Best Postgraduate Project' award, 2008.
Synopsis:
Storytelling is the oldest form of entertainment in the world. These days, stories are communicated through a variety of channels; television, film, books, computer games, blogs on the internet, etc. In looking back to the origins of storytelling, Ireland has its own fascinating tale to tell. During Celtic times, Seanchaís would memorise local history rather than write it down. They would then recite this history in the form of a lyric as requested. Travelling through towns and villages, the Seanchaís earned their keep by entertaining the locals with their tales of magic and myth.
Eddie Lenihan is a modern day Seanchaí who travels around Ireland trying to keep this old tradition of storytelling alive. Eddie is passionate about his life's work, and is somewhat of a documentarian himself. For over forty years he has travelled around the country with his microphone recording tales from other storytellers and building up his own archive. Not only is Eddie ardent about preserving the oral storytelling tradition, he also believes in many of the stories he has heard; stories of fairies, and not the ones from Walt Disney as he is quick to point out, but dark evil creatures that history has forgotten.
Eddie is a fascinating character and his story, like the tales he tells, is compelling.
25 сен 2008