Irish Women Screenwriters cast in the shadows - Knocknagow (1918) and Guests of the Nation (1935)
Wed, 11 May 2016 16:00:00 IST - Wed, 11 May 2016 17:00:00 IST, 16.00
At The Hardiman Research Building, R1001
Organised by Gender ARC and Global Women’s Studies
Gender ARC and Global Women’s Studies at NUI Galway are pleased to invite you to the following research seminar: Irish Women Screenwriters cast in the shadows - Knocknagow (1918) and Guests of the Nation (1935) Dr Díóg O’Connell, Film & Media Studies at the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology Date: Wednesday 11 May 2016 Time: 4.00-5.00 pm Venue: The Hardiman Research Building, R1001 With Introduction by Dr Miriam Haughton, Lecturer in Drama, Theatre and Performance at NUI Galway Abstract: This paper explores how Irish women screenwriters are often written out of the historical record, and cast in the shadows of male directors and novelists. In the case of Knocknagow (Ireland 1918) and Guests of the Nation (Ireland 1935), two significant films in the early history of Irish cinema, very little is known about the screenwriters - Mrs. NF Patton (Knocknagow) and Mary Manning (Guests of the Nation). These films could be considered landmark films in early Irish cinema history at the level of narrative theme, historical significance and audience appeal. Both films were written by women but very little historical references are found for either writer. Examining the archive material of both these films, this study traces through the reviews of these films, the place awarded to the screenwriter in the documented history. Is this just a case of the screenwriter being cast to the periphery or is there further marginalisation happening at the level of gender? Drawing on theories around social capital, this paper explores what the barriers are to recognition and record. Is the status of the male author privileged over that of the screenwriter, or is there a gender bias at work, relegating women screenwriters to the margins, on two levels, as screenwriters and as women? Dr Díóg O’Connell lectures in Film & Media Studies at the Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. She is the author of New Irish Storytellers: Narrative Strategies in Film (Intellect, 2010) and Documentary in a Changing State (Cork University press, 2012). She has written extensively on Irish Cinema, Television Drama and Screenwriting. She has also been a member of a Writers’ Team for Irish television drama.