Prof Lance Pettitt, Director for the Centre for Irish Studies at St Mary’s University, Twickenham delivered his inaugural lecture, 'Irish Cinema: Memoir, Nation and Self-narration' at Europe House, Smith Square, London on Thursday 20th November 2014.
The lecture explores how autobiographical writing by filmmakers can be used as a resource for re-thinking the contours of Irish cinema history. It will focus in particular on Belfast-born filmmaker Brian Desmond Hurst, drawing on research published in a new work Travelling the Road: A Memoir of Life in Cinema (Lagan Press, 2014) co-edited by Prof Pettitt and prefaced by former Observer film critic, Philip French. Hurst made more than thirty films between 1934 and 1962 including, Dangerous Moonlight (1941), Theirs is the Glory (1947), Scrooge (1951) and a number of Irish-themed films. Prof Pettitt’s lecture will be illustrated with images and abstracts from Hurst’s memoir, written originally in the mid-1970s. Prof Pettitt is a leading authority in Irish film, television and cultural history, has published two monographs on Irish cinema, including Screening Ireland (2000), many journal articles and essays and is the co-editor of ‘Ireland into Film’, a dual-language critical editions series including The Uncle Jack (2011), The Woman Who Married Clark Gable (2013) and The Road to God Knows Where (2015). He has curated and programmed film festivals in Brazil and Argentina (2010 and 2013) ,and published a DVD with the Irish Film Institute, Dublin, in its archive series: Thaddeus O’Sullivan: Films, 1974-1985 (2014). The lecture is programmed as part of the Irish Film Festival London.
The lecture explores how autobiographical writing by filmmakers can be used as a resource for re-thinking the contours of Irish cinema history. It will focus in particular on Belfast-born filmmaker Brian Desmond Hurst, drawing on research published in a new work Travelling the Road: A Memoir of Life in Cinema (Lagan Press, 2014) co-edited by Prof Pettitt and prefaced by former Observer film critic, Philip French. Hurst made more than thirty films between 1934 and 1962 including, Dangerous Moonlight (1941), Theirs is the Glory (1947), Scrooge (1951) and a number of Irish-themed films. Prof Pettitt’s lecture will be illustrated with images and abstracts from Hurst’s memoir, written originally in the mid-1970s. Prof Pettitt is a leading authority in Irish film, television and cultural history, has published two monographs on Irish cinema, including Screening Ireland (2000), many journal articles and essays and is the co-editor of ‘Ireland into Film’, a dual-language critical editions series including The Uncle Jack (2011), The Woman Who Married Clark Gable (2013) and The Road to God Knows Where (2015). He has curated and programmed film festivals in Brazil and Argentina (2010 and 2013) ,and published a DVD with the Irish Film Institute, Dublin, in its archive series: Thaddeus O’Sullivan: Films, 1974-1985 (2014). The lecture is programmed as part of the Irish Film Festival London.
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