The Poorhouse Revisited
Director: Michael Higgins · Year: 2011 · Duration: 43 min · Production: Experimental Film Society
Synopsis
In the time of Ireland’s Great Famine, an elderly gravedigger revisits a traumatic event through the decaying visions of his fragmented dreams. In 1996 the half-hour IFB/RTEÌ period drama entitled ‘Poorhouse’ was broadcast. Directed by Frank Stapleton and based on a short story by Michael Harding, the film is set during the time of Ireland’s Great Famine. The plot concerns the relationship of an elderly gravedigger and a young woman. Powerfully evoking a cultural memory of hardship and loss from 150 years previously, the film slipped into obscurity in a forward-looking era. 15 years later the discarded film rushes were discovered outdoors on the Ringsend Peninsula, Dublin – literally unearthed – by film-maker Michael Higgins. The scattered reels of decayed 16mm material consisted of some 120mins of slated scenes, re-takes and camera tests. Restored, re- worked and re-edited, the corrupted frames now resemble fragments of memories distorted through exposure to time and it’s natural elements. Through the layers of cracked emulsion images struggle to re-surface and find a place on screen, as memories for a new audience. Set to a haunting score by Brian Conniffe and Suzanne Walsh, the gravedigger's visions emerge from beneath a harsh new layer of archeological detritus, their pathos accentuated by their delicate state of fragmented survival. The Poorhouse Revisited (2012) Restoration and Edit………..Michael Higgins New Original Score………….Brian Conniffe & Suzanne Walsh The Poorhouse (1995) Writer……………………………….Michael Harding Screenplay………………………Michael Harding & Frank Stapleton Director……………………………Frank Stapleton Producer………………………….Catherine Tiernan / Ocean Films Cinematographer……………James Welland Editor……………………………….Sé Merry Doyle Production Designer……….Owen MacCarthaigh Both films featuring Dearbhle Crotty & Edmund 'Birdy' Sweeney