Move over Coláiste Lurgan, there’s a new Irish language musical king in town. The first Irish language movie musical, “Bonsoir Luna”, has recently been chosen to grace screens during Cannes Film Festival.
The short film musical, a creation of students and recent graduates of Trinity College Dublin, Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, University College Cork and Dublin Institute of Technology, is set to take to the Short Film Corner at the film festival next month.
Set in the streets of Dublin, “Bonsoir Luna” is an all-sung romance that tells the story of street artist Duke (played by Michael-David McKernan) and blind barista Luna (Hilary Bowen) who hide their romance from Luna’s mother Paula and her disapproval of Duke’s trade. When Paula almost discovers the modern-Dublin Romeo and Juliet, Duke is forced to rally his street artist friends to his cause in convincing Paula that he is a match worthy of her daughter.
You can see a teaser clip for the musical here - St. George’s arcade has never looked more like a scene from a Disney movie.
Speaking to Irish website Tuairisc.ie, director Donncha Gilmore, a recent graduate of Trinity, tells how he wrote the story and the words themselves while Josh Reichental put the words to music. Beginning filming last October, the film was finished just this month as new scenes had to be filmed once the music was recorded.
He continues to say that he originally wrote the script in English but decided that the opera-like style of the film sounded better when sung in Irish.
The film, backed by The Arts Council’s Youth Ensemble Scheme, is inspired by the musicals of Jacques Demy. It’s not yet known when or where the film will be shown in Ireland following its appearance at Cannes.
H/T: Irish Examiner
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