Entertainment

Ten Mins With...Portia A. Buckley

PORTIA A. BUCKLEY is an Irish-British writer and director, working primarily in film.

She grew up in London, studying at Camberwell College of Art and the Courtauld Institute.

Her latest film Clodagh follows Mrs Kelly, a lonely, devout, and rigorously honest priest's housekeeper (Bríd Ní Neachtain) whose discovery of a young Irish dancer, Clodagh (Katelyn Rose Downey) provokes a moral and spiritual dilemma.

It co-stars Aidan O’Hare (Jackie, The Wind that Shakes the Barley) and Jim Kitson.

The film has been BAFTA longlisted and Oscar shortlisted.

Portia A Buckley's film Clodagh is in contention for an Oscar and a Bafta

This week Buckley took some time out to talk to the Irish Post...

What are you up to?

Writing, always writing, especially now when we are trying NOT to think about the impending BAFTA and Oscar nominations, so we just keep working.

Which piece of music always sends a shiver down your spine?

That music the iPhone plays as its alarm. . . . absolutely chills me to my core.

Which artist, actor, producer or director has most influenced you?

The Scottish film director Lynne Ramsay. No competition.

Which production has made you think, hmmm, I fancy a go at that?

Jon Logan’s play Red about the life of Mark Rothko.

I saw it with Eddie Redmayne and Alfred Molina and it really changed my outlook on art, writing, acting and the theatre.

Pure magic.

What’s on your smartphone playlist at the minute?

Children’s songs. Maddening.

What’s your favourite film?

Probably Distant Voices Still Lives by Terence Davies.

It’s a film that, once I had seen it, it redefined truth and beauty in filmmaking for me.

Your favourite theatrical production?

The all-female Julius Caesar at the Donmar Warehouse in 2012. Changing the casting and setting of Shakespeare doesn’t always work, but when it does, it REALLY does.

What is your favourite place in Ireland?

The River Blackwater in Waterford.

What are your connections with Ireland?

My grandparents were Irish, both from Dublin. My grandmother and grandfather have passed, but I will always remember granddad singing the Blackrock College rugby song Rock Boys Are We at the top of his lungs.

When you’ve finished filming, how do you relax?

I don’t…. I get sick almost immediately after a shoot. I go to bed for a few days, then I get in the edit.

Which person from the past do you most admire?

I have always loved Edna O’Brien who is, sadly, now in the past.

I watched the documentary about her Blue Road, The Edna O’Brien story at Cork Film Festival last year and I loved it. Such a powerful, inspirational and fearless woman.

What would be your motto?

Aut inveniam viam aut faciam.

Full transparency, I had to google the Latin, but it means 'I shall either find a way or make one'.

Sometimes, especially in filmmaking, that is the only appropriate motto to have.

Have you a favourite quote from any production you’ve been involved in?

The first film we wrote, one of the characters said: “What have you done, Michael, what have you done?” in a disparaging way.

I use it all the time as Michael is my husband/writing partner’s name.

What books are on your bedside table at the minute?

Dance Move by Wendy Erskine, Topographia Hibernica by Blindboy Boatclub and Book of The Greek Myths by Robert Graves - this is a great one, as all the stories are in there somewhere.

In terms of inanimate objects, what is your most precious possession?

I had to think about it a lot but I have a Richard Moss photograph which I feel I would want to save, as it was a gift, but that’s it.

What’s the best thing about where you live?

We live near the park and it’s a short walk to my son’s nursery on the other side, which I am thankful for every day.

What’s the greatest lesson life has taught you?

It’s a contentious one, as it’s one you get told a lot when you’re younger and never believe it, but…success is directly related to your work ethic and output.

Also, what other people think about you is none of your business. That lesson is an important one.

What do you believe in?

That everything happens for a reason.

That reason may not be immediately obvious when it happens and it can really sting at the time...but ultimately, in my experience, time shows this to be the case.