Will the Mayo-shot ‘The Lightkeeper’ be the next big Irish cinema success story?
Irish cinema is experiencing a purple patch in the 2020s.
Actors from this country have won Academy Awards, films shot on our islands have been box office successes, and Ireland is being catapulted to the forefront of the silver screen.
This year, Mayo will be the setting of the latest chapter in Ireland’s burgeoning relationship with the movie industry.
The Lightkeeper is a new romantic drama shot in Mayo in a partnership between Screen Ireland and Telefilm Canada.
Starring Dominic Cooper and Sarah Gadon, it has brought the Hollywood spotlight to Connacht.
With excitement building for a locally shot movie, what can we expect from it, when will we see it and why is Ireland now such a cultural hotbed?
Irish Culture across the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean
A major factor in why The Lightkeeper appears to be highly anticipated is the recent explosion of Irish culture and storytelling on the world stage.
This has been particularly notable in gaming, especially the online casino sector, where there are entire collections of slot games based on Irish culture.
For example, Lucky Bonanza Cash Spree and Supercharged Clovers are popular options that are regularly featured on the homepages of international operators.
In music, Celtic fusion has been popular for years. Boston’s Dropkick Murphys infused traditional music with American punk. Now, we have bands like The Scratch and Fontaines D.C. marrying trad with metal and post-punk, respectively. Then, there’s CMAT, who is staking her claim as Ireland’s icon of pop by introducing Gaeilge lyrics to Euro pop and country.
What is The Lightkeeper about and where was it shot?
The primary filming locations for this rumination on grief were around Donegal, with the county serving as the island on which the majority of the film’s story takes place. However, shooting would also make its way to Belmullet, with both Cooper and Sarah Bolger travelling to Mayo.
Both Donegal and Mayo were used to capture the moodiness of the Wild Atlantic Way, clearly serving as a perfect backdrop for a story of woe. It is not the first time Mayo has been used to convey a looming sense of foreboding. The smash-hit Martin McDonagh film The Banshees of Inisherin was famously shot on Achill Island, which served as a depressing setting.
When will we see The Lightkeeper released in Mayo?
It does not appear that there has been a release date set for The Lightkeeper.
Despite achieving success at the DiFF in February, it does not appear to have been picked up by a major distributor, so we will have to wait to find out when it will be released.
When it does finally find its way into Irish cinemas, it will be another proud day for Mayo and Connacht at large.
This part of the country is fast becoming one of the most popular settings for some of the most groundbreaking movies in recent history, and long may it continue.