Multi Award winning Irish Wild Life Documentary, The Silver Branch, at The Source Thurles
MULTI AWARD winning Irish Wild Life Documentary, The Silver Branch, which will be screening in the Source Arts Centre, Thurles Wed 23rd at 8pm
‘The Silver Branch’ depicts the life and insights of the inimitable philosopher, poet, and fifth-generation farmer, Patrick McCormack, owner of ‘Fr Ted’s House’ in the beautiful, austere Burren. Through Patrick’s eyes and pastoral verse, this beautifully shot film immerses us in the exquisite textures of the natural world, bringing us a rare glimpse of a disappearing way of life with all its richness and roguery, and leading to a deep connection with the Earth and our ancestral wild spirit.
On the face of it, this documentary is about a farmer, Patrick McCormack, a man who has an extraordinary connection to the land, history and nature around him, and has the courage, humility and words to describe it, in such a way, as to move those who have neither knowledge nor appreciation for these things.
The Silver Branch, is not a normal brow beating conservation documentary, but rather Patrick’s poetry and the story guides us from meditative appreciation to solemn awareness of the vulnerability of our natural wilderness and resources.
It’s hard for people to appreciate a thing you have no connection to and no sense that we need to protect it, or that it is a finite resource:
Which is why ‘The Silver Branch’ is an important documentary for these times.
Watch the trailer below or click here
The Silver Branch Trailer from Sea Fever on Vimeo.
Reviews
RTÉ Film review: THE SILVER BRANCH: absorbing and deserving of garlands “The Silver Branch is an absorbing, brilliant film that should be honoured everywhere prizes are given, for delving delicately and drinking deep at the well of one man’s story, one family’s joy and heartbreak.”
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT “A breath-taking cinematic essay on Ireland’s natural beauty. Accompanying this visual beauty are the thoughtful, sometimes hypnotic poems and musings of McCormack, which emphasise the importance of nature and our need to embrace simplicity and beauty in modern life. Ireland has rarely been captured onscreen with such striking artistry.”
HOTPRESS “So potent is the continuous conversation Costello’s film has with its environment that a meditative quality takes hold that is as rich and rare as the Burren itself. What begins as just a sumptuous piece of local filmmaking starts to ring with a universal candour.”
IRISH TIMES (Donald Clarke) “Beautifully shot, thoughtful documentary on the poet Patrick McCormack. It is a testament to the power of Costello’s film-making that the picture can win over even those (ahem) not entirely on board with McCormack’s pastoral philosophy.”
FILM IRELAND: “Katrina Costello’s The Silver Branch is plainly gorgeous