Moira Sweeney

Na Féilte Tine (The Fire Festivals) is a four-part series exploring the four indigenous Irish festivals of Samhain, Imbolg, Bealtaine and Lúnasa. The festivals have been celebrated for millennia in Ireland and in this series, we will explore their history and continual evolution as they respond to the spiritual and communal needs of the Irish in the 21st century. The symbolism and mythology central to the festivals will be examined, and we will explore the impact that these ancient traditions have on Irish culture and identity.

Beautiful slowed down images, often framed through doors and windows, offer a metaphorical and lyrical journey of discovery through memory. The silent images of childhood memories contrast with room interiors and windows. The seemingly innocent nature of the children at play is threatened by the haunting sounds of their voices over the interior spaces.

A poetic and ironic tribute to the city of Budapest using footage filmed on the Mayday worker Festival and archival photographs from the turn of the century. A celebration of the city akin to the city ‘symphonies’ of the 20’s and 30’s with the iconography of the old Eastern Europe, its architecture, trams and its people set in a series of fleeting glimpses and rhythmical paces.

Tentative gestures of hands and body become symbolic of opposing emotions involved in closeness to one person, trust – the need to escape. Actions merge into one continual unresolved movement.

Imaginary is a film in three parts (From Today, Touched and One) shot in varying intimate and personal environments. Fleeting images are re-filmed and stylised in an unsentimental manner.