FNI Wrap Chat #178 | Anna Rodgers & Shaun Dunne | Co-Directors (How to Tell a Secret) In Cinemas Dec 1st
Show Notes
On this episode of the show, Paul Webster and PBL are joined by co-directors Anna Rogers and Shaun Dunne @shaundunnagram who crafted the poignant and affecting new documentary, How To Tell A Secret. The film is self-released and will screen in cinemas around the country. Check the film's socials to find out where and support the film in any way you can.
A wonderful chat about an important film. Out in early December in the IFI @irishfilminstitute and around the country.
This groundbreaking film takes on the enormity and complexity of HIV in Ireland with rigorous honesty, ingenuity and artistry that propels the conversation forward.
People in Ireland living with HIV share experiences with disarming emotional generosity and multiple creative means – making room for rage, acceptance, catastrophe and love along the way.
Robbie Lawlor was diagnosed with HIV at 21 and became one of the youngest people to come out on Irish television. Enda McGrattan, also known as Veda, promised to keep their HIV status a secret but eventually broke free with a song. And a group of Irish and migrant women, who cannot show their faces, found creative ways to have their voices heard. In this powerful hybrid documentary, directors Anna Rodgers and Shaun Dunne use documentary, performance and genre-blurring storytelling techniques to communicate a powerful message of what it is like to live with HIV in Ireland today. The film also includes a dramatic tribute to Thom McGinty, aka The Diceman.
How To Tell A Secret was directed by Anna Rodgers & Shaun Dunne and produced by Zlata Filipovic for Invisible Thread Productions. Music for the film was scored by Michael Fleming and Hugh Rodgers, Eleanor Bowman was the director of photography and it was edited by Paul Mullen. This film was made as part of the Reel Arts award with The Arts Council of Ireland.
Mixing new documentary work and archival footage with verbatim theatre, lip sync and a non-linear film style, this is queer storytelling at its best. Veda’s embodiment of the Diceman, Thom McGinty, is surely one of the most iconic visions of queer Ireland yet captured on film.
U equals U. Did you know that effective HIV treatment makes a person’s viral load undetectable and therefore HIV untransmittable? Which means HIV cannot be passed on to sexual partners. U equals U!
View the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/766562589?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=34118977