'It's such a Cork story, the homecoming feels special': 'Christy' makes its home debut

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

'This feels like the big one,' says Cork director Brendan Canty at his film Christy's premiere. It's not the Berlin International Film Festival — it premiered there in February. No, this is Mahon Point shopping centre on a Wednesday evening, and the atmosphere is electric.
As the Kabin Crew entertain the gathering crowds nearby, Canty is recalling a conversation with his wife the night before where he shared his nerves.
'She was like, 'what, Mahon Point?' But, like, it's such a Cork story and for all the cast especially, this is the one, like. Cork is their world. It's such a Cork story, the homecoming feels special.'
Despite his nerves at home, Christy is a resounding success internationally. In Berlin, Canty won a top award for his street-cast, Cork-shot debut feature film and he describes it as a whirlwind experience.
'It was chaos, but it was amazing. You go from making this film for eight years, almost privately, to it being shown in front of 1,000 people in the opening. It was just crazy and it went down so well.'
Christy follows two estranged brothers as they grapple with their past and resolve to unite over one summer in Cork City's northside. At the centre of the film is actor Danny Power, who said it was 'scary' bringing the film home to Cork but that he enjoyed working in his native northside.
Brendan Canty, actor Danny Power, and Danny's five-year-old son Keano on the red carpet at Mahon Point Shopping Centre. Picture: Chani Anderson
'I live up the northside anyway and I used to hang around Knocknaheeny, and I was in the Cabin when I was younger. It's really a tight-knit community, like everyone knows everything about everyone. It's really community-orientated, you wouldn't find it in many places, that tight.'
Canty, who grew up in Ballincollig, notes Power was the first person he cast through the Kabin Crew and he describes the rap collective as their gateway to the community.
'It allowed me, who's not from the area, access to the area, just going up there and having a purpose and hanging out and stuff like that. I got to meet the wider community and hear the stories,' he says.
Christy tackles dark topics and Power says he put a lot of his own experiences into the character.
'It was weird because I felt a lot of the emotions that Christy was feeling in the film that I felt before myself in life,' Power says. 'Not everything, obviously, but I was able to portray him a lot easier than I thought I would.'
The pair say it was a tight-knit crew on set and they formed strong friendships, and soon co-star Chris Walley is walking over to poke fun at Power.
Jamie and Tiny from the Kabin Studio performing on the red carpet at the premiere of 'Christy' at Mahon Point. Picture: Chani Anderson
Walley, best known as Jock in The Young Offenders, says he is proud of the work being done in Cork.
'It fills me with enormous pride to see the film and the TV projects that are coming from here and to be a part of that means an awful lot to me,' he says. 'This is where I grew up, where my love for acting began. So to be able to come back to actually work here on screen is an enormous privilege.'
The balance of light and dark subjects in Christy is impressive, says Walley.
'I think the way Brendan's managed to balance both the drama and the reality of situations like this with the humour is again, very true and reflective of Cork. I'm very proud to be part of the film.'
Christy is in Irish cinemas from August 29.