Irish Film Institute -International Film Directory – Film Listing

The Swell Season

    • Director

      Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins, Carlo Mirabella-Davis

    • Credits

      Producer: Carlo Mirabella-Davis

    • Principal Cast

      Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová

  • Category

    Documentary
    Music

A simple, heartfelt love story about two musicians meeting on the streets of Dublin and falling in love while they write songs together, Once is one of the most celebrated and treasured Irish features of recent times. Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, who played the protagonists in the film and composed its soundtrack, memorably won Academy Awards for their musical collaboration. In a case of life imitating art, the pair fell in love, recorded an album together and embarked on an international tour. Beautifully presented in black and white and featuring wonderful performances from stages around the world, this intimate documentary follows the couple as they deal with the pressures of fame and the impact it has on their relationship. The Swell Season is as moving and disarming as the film that first bought Hansard and Irglová to the attention of the world.

Notes by Michael Hayden

92 minutes, Ireland/USA/Czech Republic, 2011, B&W


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