Brendan Canty told David Hennessy about his debut feature Christy before its London premiere this week.
Brendan Canty brings his debut feature film Christy to London for a special screening hosted by IFTUK on Tuesday 2 September.
Christy centres around the titular teenage boy played Danny Power.
When a violent incident sees Christy kicked out of his foster home in Ballincollig, he must move in with his estranged brother Shane (Diarmuid Noyes) in Knocknaheeny on the north side of Cork.
Shane worries for his brother as he knows Christy can’t behave in the same problematic way in Knocknaheeny as it is a different world to Ballincollig.
Christy is lost but finds his place among a group of local youngsters and also a calling in a local hairdressers.
He is also warmly welcomed by many people, including relatives, that have not seen him since he was very young but not all have his best interests at heart.
The supporting cast includes established actors such as Chris Walley, Alison Oliver and Helen Behan.
However for many it is the young actors from the Kabin Studio, a Cork- based community arts collective who perform hip-hop, that steal the show.
It also shows Knocknaheeny, an area in north Cork that is often only mentioned in a bad light, for the community that it is.
We chatted to director Brendan Canty, whose previous work includes music videos for Dermot Kennedy and Hozier’s Take Me To Church video, about the film.
The film has been well received at international festivals including Berlin but Brendan spoke to us fresh from screening the film in Mahon Point, Cork which meant a lot to the film being so unmistakably Cork.
Brendan Canty told The Irish World: “It was really special.
“We’ve done Berlin and obviously I was nervous for that but it’s gone all over Europe since and I just kind of lost those nerves, I have a lot of faith in the film and I knew even at home, people would really like it, but there were nerves bringing it to a home crowd.
“It’s just so specific to cork that you just are really hoping that people get it, and they did.
“It was lovely.
“It was quite overwhelming actually but it was special.”
I bet it was because it is such a Cork film and so specifically the north side of Cork which hasn’t really been featured in cinema much at all..
“Well, there’s The Young Offenders which is a totally different thing tonally, that’s it really.
“I think you’re right.
“I can’t think of anything else that’s been set up there which, to me, is mad because it’s so cinematic up there, I think.
“I think it’s one of the most cinematic places I’ve ever shot in really.”
So how did the film start? I know it was initially a short film a few years ago, has this been a vision you’ve had for some time?
“Yeah, me and the writer Alan O’Gorman always knew we wanted to write something in Cork.
“We started to write this film about characters we would have grown up with and stuff but we had no clue how to write a feature so it was kind of a mess of ideas.
“But then in the middle of all this mess of ideas was kind of the bones of a short film so we said, ‘Look, let’s just park this feature and make the short’.
“And then we did and that kind of inspired everything then, we were able to go back and write the feature.”
Did it change over time then, the idea?
“It did.
“The short was a big catalyst because we came upon this community up the north side called the Kabin Studios which teaches kids how to make hip hop and pretty much the short was all cast through that place. Suddenly we had these characters to write for and we became part of that community.
“We were like, ‘Okay, the tone of this film is going to be kind of led by this community now’.
“I guess the film then would have changed a lot based on just getting the details of the foster care system right and getting all that exposition right.
“But the short was the big turning point, I think.”
Danny Power also starred in that short as Christy, is he one who came from Kabin Studio?
“Yeah, he had never acted before.
“I remember his first audition tape and he was brilliant.
“Initially he wasn’t actually Christy but the original Christy had to pull out and a few days before the short film, we kind of bumped Danny up but as soon as we did that, something clicked in him and this incredible actor just came out.
“It was really extraordinary. What a find, kind of one in a million.”
He also has that quality of being able to say a lot without opening his mouth..
“It’s true.
“One of the big challenges actually when we were writing it was in development people were always saying, ‘Well, what’s your character’s drive, what do they want? What do they need?’
“And me and Alan would always push back.
“At the start of the film Christy definitely needs the security, needs family, he needs a community but he doesn’t want anything.
“All his life he’s kind of been told that he can’t want anything because he’s just been moved around from foster care to foster care, and he’s depressed.
“And I think people we were developing it with really struggled with that, ‘How can you have a lead character who doesn’t want anything? It’s not gonna work. There has to be something that’s driving the film on’.
“But we stuck to our guns because it was authentic.
“At the start of the film it’s a portrait of a lost kid who’s depressed, and it works so I’m glad we stayed true to that because I think it is a bit different or it’s authentic anyway.
“And, as you said, like, what Danny can do without saying anything just when you’re on his face is really incredible. He’s something else.”
You speak about Christy not wanting anything. There is that conversation with Troy where Troy says he can’t wait to get out of Knocknaheeny while Christy says he likes it there, he is perfectly content there..
“I think that’s my favourite section of the film.
“It’s quite moving for me that moment where he’s actually just saying it, but I’m not sure he’s fully conscious of it, he has actually found his place in the world for his first time his life and it’s coming out in these casual conversations.
“It’s quite moving, I think when he delivers that line. It’s very powerful.”
That’s what makes it heartbreaking for the viewer, isn’t it? That him and Shane and his girlfriend and baby can’t all be a happy family together..
“Well, it’s not to say it isn’t though.
“It’s not an option in Shane’s head, this is the way I see it.
“Shane always gets a bit of a bad rap, I think.
“Through development I always felt like a big defender of Shane.
“Shane is always trying to help his brother but he’s only doing it in the way he knows how which would have been Christy would be better off if he has the security of a foster family.
“Shane was a foster kid himself and he’s always had things taken away from him be it families or be it his mother or be it Christy and now he finally has security in a family and he’s probably running scared that that’s going to be taken away from him.
“He gets a call and has to take in this brother he doesn’t really know too well and he has a baby so life’s stressful.
“He says to Stacy, his partner, ‘You don’t want Christy to stay here’.
“And she’s like, ‘You don’t know that, you’re just assuming’.
“And it’s the fact that he is actually talking maybe means that they can be a happy family.”
The film is set in a well known area of Cork’s north city, although there are some rough characters making appearances, I found it refreshing that Chirsty didn’t get pulled into the drugs or gangs lifestyle, that’s not what the film’s about. Instead it’s mostly about people doing their best to make something of themselves..
“We have the cousins and stuff.
“I think it is really important to show the darker side of things and especially for a kid like Christy who is very vulnerable.
“He’s the sort of kid that could easily be snapped up by drug dealers or that side of things but we really try to restrain ourselves from going down the kind of the gangster route even though that is there in the area, we didn’t want to glorify that sort of stuff.
“Christy chooses a community.
“He chooses this hairdressing job because it’s just the right people and I guess he’s lucky that at that time, the right people were there for him.
“That’s what it was about.
“It was about hope and community and positivity.
“Because the world is too dark to, I don’t know what the point would be making the other type of film.
“Areas like Knocknaheeny or the north side of cork, there’s a stigma around these areas.
“It’s like people look down on them and I think it’s easy for people to judge these places, ‘It’s rough, this will happen if you go up into the area’.
“But there’s good people, there’s a lot of good people in these areas and there’s a lot of good communities and there’s a massive heart in these places.
“That’s what we wanted to show without shying away from the other side but leaning into that side of stuff.
“I think that already has and will resonate with people a lot.
“Even when we were shooting the film up the area, I remember some person just walking by was like, ‘What’s the film about?’
“They were like, ‘Oh, we assume it’s going to be some depressing crime thing..’
“That’s what they just assumed because that’s all that kind of gets made up in these places and I was like, ‘It’s not actually’.
“And I was proud of that.
“I think people expect that from some of these films like, ‘Social realist film about a foster kid, it’s gonna be depressing. Is he gonna end up killing himself?’
“I’m very proud that it doesn’t go that way.”
You’re from outside the area, Ballincollig, you were welcomed in..
“When you’re genuine and people know you’re trying to do the good things and stuff like that, people just welcome you with open arms.
“They really do.
“When we made the short film, there was people in production that were nervous about us shooting in the area and the only thing of note that happened during the shoot was on the second day of filming a woman came out with teas and cakes that she had baked for us the day before and thanked us for doing what we were doing for young people in the area.
“People get stuff in their heads and they’re often bullsh*t.”
Let’s talk about the supporting cast because you have got two big Cork stars in Allison Oliver and Chris Walley, what was it like to have them make appearances?
“Amazing, they were both fans of the short film and they’re both such supporters of younger talent coming through.
“Danny Power would have gotten a part in Young Offenders off the back of the short film and Chris really took him under his wing and got him an agent and helped him out.
“And then Alison loved the short film and she was a real rising star when I got onto her.
“She just jumped on it.
“They both just wanted to be part of this project because of the process, because of how these first time actors were leading the show.
“They just loved the ethos of the project.
“They saw it as a community film, something different and they’re all about giving back.
“And they were an absolute dream to work with.
“Chris and Alison are just such wonderful people.
“It’s so cool to have them on board and it really just highlights what this film is about.
“They’re just next level pros, real special talents and honestly, the nicest people you could ever work with.
“And so supportive with the other cast because some of the cast would be maybe nervous about the film coming out or how they’ll be seen and Alison and Chris are just so open to just giving people advice and support.”
People say you shouldn’t work with children but the second half of that saying is because they will upstage you, it might be evident here as the youngsters do steal the show..
“I know, they steal the show.
“They’re just naturals.
“They’re incredible.
“People underestimate how good and natural young people can be and this group of people is something special again and they’re all so close with each other and they’re all just creatives that have just been empowered to just give their everything and they’re joys to work with.
“They light up the screen and to be honest people are like, ‘Oh, the performances were amazing’.
“And I might be doing myself a disservice by saying I didn’t have much to do with it but it’s not like I coached them or anything like that, it’s really about just becoming part of their community, gaining their trust and just allowing them to be free and taking the pressure away and having fun.
“That’s kind of what it’s about.”
And what about Helen Behan?
“She’s massive.
“She’s incredible.
“Me and Alan were such fanboys of her ever since we saw her in The Virtues really.
“I’ve never seen an Irish middle aged woman being portrayed so well, just so bang on like her in The Virtues just with so much sass.
“That’s just not what you expect to see of a middle aged Irish woman on TV or on film but it’s so spot on.
“She’s just so funny and her improv is amazing, and she’s so unbelievably humble.
“I was so privileged to get her.
“Honestly from day one we were like, ‘Helen Behan is playing this part’.
“She’s magic.”
You mentioned The Virtues there an some have compared Christy to Shane Meadows’ This is England..
“I love it.
“Shane Meadows and This is England would have been a really big inspiration.
“He would have done lots of development workshops before This is England and that was something that I was really interested in so I was trying to kind of figure out what he did and I actually didn’t in the end so we just had to do our own thing but then Helen actually came on board and was like, ‘Your process reminds me so much of Shane Meadows’.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God’.”
You spoke about the need to get details of the foster system right.
In the film Christy is in a precarious position about to turn 18 and when these kids in care become adults, they are kind of on their own, aren’t they?
“It’s really interesting.
“They call it cliff edging.
“When these foster kids become an adult, basically go from 17 to 18 they go from foster care into aftercare and it can be quite precarious because for a lot of them, they’re just kind of given an allowance but they don’t have the tools to be able to suddenly be out in the world so it’s quite a dangerous moment for a lot of them and it was so important for us to get that right.
“Alan would have worked with a lot of kids like Christy when he worked in a school in Manchester so he had the right people around him to really make sure it was authentic.
“There’s foster kids who star in the film and we were working closely with them as well but it was so important across the board that we got that right.
“We never wanted to use the film to make any sort of political comment on the system or anything.
“We just wanted to be like, ‘This is what it is. This is what’s authentic’.
“People can make their minds up, ‘Is it good? Is it bad? Are they overworked?’
“All this sort of stuff?
“There’s good people in there but it’s tough so we hope we portrayed it well.
“There’s people from foster care services or charities or whatever who would have came to the premieres and so far the feedback from social workers and foster kids has been really strong.
“That is the best feedback we can get: To feel like a foster kid can come and watch this film and feel represented, that’s everything.”
IFTUK host a screening of Christy at Picture House Central in London on Tuesday 2 September. The screening will be followed by a Q and A with Brendan.
Christy is in Irish cinemas now and UK cinemas from 5 September.
For more information and to book, click here.