Discover the darkly comedic and idiosyncratic world of Irish animator Flora Kerrigan - the rediscovered “amateur” filmmaker with a professional sensibility.

Cork-born filmmaker Flora Kerrigan crafted a remarkable collection of silent animation and live-action shorts on 8mm film in the 1960s. The surreal playfulness of her animation belied the painstaking meticulousness of their production and her work earned international accolades and an airing on Irish national television. The live-action films are an equally fascinating treasure trove - featuring friends and family - variously absurd, comedic, macabre and concerned with female sexuality. 

Following Kerrigan’s move to the UK in the late 1960s, her work faded into obscurity until it was recently rediscovered through the Women in Focus Film Archives project and a collaboration between the IFI Irish Film Archive and Maynooth University. 

Presented with a newly commissioned accompaniment by Irish avant-garde free-improvisational pianist, Paul G. Smyth in partnership with the Irish Film Institute.
Running time: 1h approx. | N/C 12A
Performing live: Paul G. Smyth (piano)

Online programme notes by Sarah Arnold
Restored with support from ACE – Association des Cinémathèques Européennes and the EU Creative Europe MEDIA programme.