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FEATURE DOCUMENTARY TELLING THE STORY OF ONE MAN’S LIFE-LONG OBSESSION WITH THE ‘WALL OF DEATH’ RELEASED FROM MARCH 10TH

The Irish Film Institute is delighted to present The Artist & The Wall of Death in cinema from 10th March.

The Artist & The Wall of Death tells the thrilling story of Glaswegian performance artist, Stephen Skrynka, and his life-long obsession with the ‘Wall of Death’. Determined to conquer the Wall, he endures a humiliating experience training with renowned wall rider Ken Fox before discovering the story of Irishmen Michael Donohoe and Connie Kiernan. 

In 1979, Connie and Michael had constructed a ramshackle ‘Wall of Death’ on their farm in rural Granard, inspiring the much-loved feature film ‘Eat the Peach’. Forty years on, Stephen appears in town and presents them with an audacious proposal: construct a new ‘Wall of Death’ with him and take it on tour.

Though the Wall is painstakingly constructed, a massive argument between the trio brings the endeavour skidding to a halt. Devastated, Stephen returns to Glasgow. However, with a pandemic raging, Stephen somehow finds the heart to try one last time and he begins to build his own Wall from scratch. 

Directed by first time feature documentary filmmaker, Maurice O’Brien, The Artist and the Wall of Death is a story of second chances, of art vanquishing death, of embracing failure and dealing with unfinished business.

For this Irish exclusive presentation at the IFI there will be Open Captioned screenings at 14.00 on Friday 10th and 20.40 on Monday 13th. Open Captioned screenings are on sale here: https://ifi.ie/film/the-artist-and-the-wall-of-death/ Regular screenings on sale in line with the IFI Weekly Schedule, from Monday 6th.

The opening night screening on Friday 10th (18.20) will be followed by a Q&A with director Maurice O’Brien and producer John Kelleher, hosted by filmmaker Kim Bartley. Tickets for the Q&A screening are on sale here: https://ifi.ie/film/the-artist-and-the-wall-of-death-qa/ 

IFI CINEMAS TODAY


The IFI is supported
by The Arts Council

Arts Council of Ireland