How to Make A Winning Irish Short

Ross Whitaker talks to some of the creative personnel behind this year's standout short Yu Ming is Ainm Dom

Yu Ming is Ainm Dom, Daniel O'Hara's clever short film in the Irish language won both Best Irish Short and Best First Irish Short at this year's Galway Film Fleadh and in mid-September it was screened by Kodak in Los Angeles, which will make the film eligible for an Oscar nomination.

The achievement is impressive for a film shot on digital with a €10,000 budget as part of the Lasair shorts funded by TG4 and Filmbase. Yu Ming is Ainm Dom is the story of a young Chinese man who, feeling disillusioned with his dull life in China, spins the globe and chooses Ireland as a destination. Further research informs him that the official language of Ireland is Irish, which he diligently learns only to find out upon arrival that few people in Ireland can understand him. What follows is a funny and fascinating film that captures everyone's imagination immediately and in Galway the audience reaction was phenomenal.

The film was exquisitely shot on the Sony DSR 500 DV Cam by Lighting Cameraman, Fergal O'Hanlon, who takes great pleasure in "fucking with the camera", and in doing so proves that films shot on digital with a low budget need not sacrifice style and, in fact, can look great.

O'Hanlon and Director, Daniel O'Hara, cut their teeth in television, but it's clear that they are bound for success in the film world, particularly as digital filmmaking increases. I caught up with O'Hara, O'Hanlon and Sound Recordist, Fiachra O'Hanlon, in a Dublin pub after their Film Fleadh success, and a simple interview turned into a long night of discussions about Yu Ming, digital filmmaking and oppressive green hues...

The full article is printed in Film Ireland 95