- Culture
- 10 May 17
The celebrated BAFTA winning director behind films such as 'Song for a Raggy Boy', 'Maudie' and 'Joyriders' is set to take part in an ongoing masterclass series that is being organized by WFT.I (Women in Film & Television), it has been announced.
The 'In Conversation With Director Aisling Walsh' about the art of writing and directing for the big screen will take place on Monday 29 May between 6pm-9pm in the Liberties Suite of The Brooks Hotel at 62 Drury Street, Dublin.
It is free of charge for WFT.I members (please RSVP to: [email protected]); while the event is also open to the public for a door charge of €10 (please RSVP to: [email protected]).
Over the last two decades Walsh has cemented a reputation as one of Ireland’s pre-eminent filmmakers in both feature film and television formats. Her celebrated work as a writer and director includes some of the most recognised Irish films in recent years, including 'Maudie' (2016) and 'Song for a Raggy Boy' (2003), as well as 'Daisy Chain' (2007) and 'Joyriders' (1988).
Her long and illustrious history of working with the BBC has produced some lauded TV, including 'An Inspector Calls' (2015), 'A Poet in New York' (2014) 'Room at the Top' (2013), 'Wallander' (2012), 'Fingersmith' (2005), 'Sinners' (2002). Walsh has won three BAFTA television awards.
Walsh’s celebration of the isolated and marginalized have seen her move with effortless ease between both the film and television mediums, long before current trends.
From graduating in Fine Art at the now Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology to becoming the first Irish graduate of the National Film School at Beaconsfield in the UK, Walsh has carved a rich and exciting career known for her political and thought-provoking social commentary, and is considered one of Ireland’s most celebrated filmmakers.
Walsh’s career has seen her collaborate with some of the most distinguished and accomplished actors working today, including Aidan Quinn, Kenneth Branagh, Sally Hawkins, Miranda Richardson, Tom Hiddleston, Alfred Molina, Tom Hollander, Rhys Ifans, David Thewlis, Iain Glen and Helen McCrory. Cinematographers such as Martin Fuhrer, Guy Godfree, Lukas Strebel, and editors Alex Mackie and Stephen O'Connell.
Maudie, Walsh’s latest project, is a feature biopic of Canadian artist Maud Lewis set in Nova Scotia. A heart-wrenching portrait of the artist and her life, Maudie features the acting talents of Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke in a subtle yet poignant story of triumph over adversity. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in 2016 to critical acclaim, and will be released in America on the 16th of June 2017.
Women in Film and Television Ireland (WFT.I) is a voluntary organisation established in 2014. It is a branch of Women in Film and Television International, a foundation promoting greater representation of women on screen and behind the camera, with a membership of over thirteen thousand professionals worldwide. The Irish branch is run by film and TV professionals of international standing. The committee members represent the creative, business and technical divisions of the Irish audiovisual sector.