In this Film Ireland podcast Gemma Creagh talks to Modern Lanternist Jeremy Brooker who is performing in Dublin as part of the Bloomsday Film Festival (11th-16th June). The festival presents A Magic Lantern Odyssey on Saturday, 14th June at 7pm in Belvedere College, a live Magic Lantern performance based on Ulysses.
We're also delighted to welcome Irish screenwriter Stephen Shields on to the podcast to talk with Matthew Briody about the craft of writing across genres in film and television, creating strong characters, hitting deadlines and his 2024 American vampire horror comedy, Abigail.
Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts.
Jeremy Brooker
Jeremy Brooker is one of the leading magic lantern performers working today. Whether in the grand auditorium of the Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon, a circus tent overlooking Lake Geneva or the cabin of an historic Thames barge putting to sea with just 20 people onboard, audiences have marvelled at his mastery of this demanding art form. In his hands, the beauty and visual spectacle which has kept the magic lantern at the forefront of popular entertainment for centuries retains the power to fully engage a modern audience. Check out his website here: www.jeremybrooker.com
About Stephen Shields
Stephen is an Irish screenwriter and script editor from Dublin. He earned early acclaim with Zombie Bashers (RTÉ Storyland 2010 winner), then joined The Republic of Telly as its longest-serving writer—earning two Irish Writers’ Guild award nods. He also contributed to Callan’s Kicks, Des Bishop’s This Is Ireland, and created the children’s comedy Tim’s Tactical Tips. Shields pivoted into the horror-thriller space with the feature The Hole in the Ground (2019; co-writer alongside director Lee Cronin and producer John Keville). The film premiered at Sundance and secured backing from Screen Ireland, Bankside Films, and A24. 2024 saw the release of a vampire horror-comedy film he co-wrote Abigail (with Guy Busick), directed by Matt Bettinelli‑Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The film premiered at the Overlook Film Festival earned Shields an IFTA nomination for Best Script.
Ireland’s most literary film festival was established as a celebration of cinema, literature, and artistic innovation, inspired by the far-reaching influence of Ireland’s father of modernism, James Joyce. The festival is presented in partnership with the Bloomsday Festival and the James Joyce Centre, and runs from 11–16 June, with screenings hosted at the historic James Joyce Centre and the Irish Film Institute (IFI). Alongside its cinematic programme, the Bloomsday Film Festival presents a diverse range of events, including director Q&As, workshops, musical performances, and poetry readings. At its core, the festival is committed to fostering artistic innovation - championing filmmakers who forge their own paths and create work that pushes the boundaries of the medium, in the same pioneering spirit that defined Joyce’s literary legacy.
Check out the programme & get tickets at www.bloomsdayfestival.ie.
