This episode of the Film Ireland Podcast features acclaimed filmmaker Shimmy Marcus, whose career spans writing, directing and producing across feature films, documentaries, short films and music videos.
His feature films include Headrush, which earned him the Miramax Screenwriting Award in 1999, and Soulboy, a Northern Soul-inspired drama starring Felicity Jones and Martin Compston.
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Shimmy Marcus
Shimmy Marcus is an award-winning filmmaker whose work spans a variety of formats and genres. In 1999, he won the Miramax Screenwriting Award for his feature script Headrush, which he also went on to direct. The film received several international awards, including Best Feature at festivals in Michigan and New York, as well as at the Braunschweig Film Festival in Germany.
His critically acclaimed feature documentary, Aidan Walsh – Master of the Universe, became the first Irish documentary shot on video to receive theatrical and video distribution. Further accolades followed for his short films and, notably, his contribution to the feature documentary Imagining Ulysses. Marcus is also recognised for creating innovative music videos for an impressive range of artists and bands, including Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Gavin Friday, Skin (Skunk Anansie), Republic of Loose, and BP Fallon and Jack White of The White Stripes.
His second feature film, Soulboy, starring Felicity Jones and Martin Compston, is set against the backdrop of the Northern Soul movement in 1970s Britain. The film won the ‘Enfant Terrible’ award at the Gijón International Film Festival. In 2010, Marcus joined The Factory as a guest director, continuing to produce and direct films, including the award-winning short films Rhinos and Hannah Cohen’s Holy Communion. His documentary work has also explored subjects such as Parkinson’s disease and Holocaust survivors living in Ireland.
He is currently Director of Bow Street Academy – The National Screen Acting School of Ireland – and is also a co-founder of the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland.
