Ciara Hyland, a film documentary director, is the newly appointed Kerry County Council Filmmaker in Residence.
Ms. Hyland directed the TG4 documentary Diarmuid Lynch – The Forgotten Volunteer about the incredible life of the last man out of the GPO.
She also produces and directs documentary segments for Nationwide on RTE and for Duiche on TG4.
Ciara will be known in Castleisland as the production assistant with the ForeFront TV team which worked on the local segment of the TG4 series of Spillane an Fánaí in May of 2013.
Focusing on Documentary Making
While she is currently focusing on documentary making, she also has a strong background in drama and fiction filmmaking.
Prior to moving into directing she spent several years as a script supervisor on feature films and drama series including productions for Disney, BBC, RTE and the Irish Film Board.
Short films she has produced have twice been the recipient of the RTE Short Script Award and have won numerous awards internationally.
Plans for the Residency:
“I’m absolutely delighted to be the new Filmmaker in Residence,’ said Ciara. ‘I’m thrilled to have been given this opportunity and am so looking forward to working with the people of Kerry.’
Ciara plans on using the residency to develop Kerry Storyscene – a digital storytelling project that opens up and gives access to the community to make their own short documentaries exploring the theme of Kerry 1916 – 2016.
Possibilities for this theme include exploring history – personal or family, the Kerry landscape and heritage or even some personal opinions or poetic musings!
The General Public
“Digital Storytelling has a long history of opening up documentary making to the general public – removing barriers, giving people a voice and democratizing the documentary making process. It’s a viewpoint that is very close to my heart.
“Everybody has something interesting to say and everybody should have the opportunity to create and shape their own stories in their own way,” said Ms. Hyland.
Ciara will facilitate a series of workshops around Kerry where people will learn how to put music, pictures and voice-over together to create short powerful documentaries.
“The technology is really easy to use,” she explained:
Accessible to Everyone
“It’s what people have to say that’s important so it’s accessible to everyone. It’s also a very powerful medium. Digital stories can often be very personal, inspiring and eye opening. Personally, I can’t wait to see what people will make during these workshops and I’m really looking forward to the process,” she concluded.
Tá neart Gaeilge ag Ciara agus is breá lei an deis an teanga a usáid. Tá fíor fáilte romhat dul i dteangmháil le Ciara as Gaeilge más mian leat.
For more information please contact the Arts Office, Kerry County Council – arts@kerrycoco.ie or 066 71 83541. The position is co-funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.
You can contact The Maine Valley Post on…
Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com
Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: John Reidy on 087 23 59 467
