'With the right vision we can make films to change lives'

Liam Hall Walshe, a filmmaker from Westmeath, living and working in Dublin, last week debuted two films he directed alongside some aspiring filmmakers from Ballymun.

“This year they brought me in to mentor and organise these creative workshops with these two groups from Poppintree Youth Centre in Ballymun,” said Liam.

“We got funding from TikTok and Dublin City Council so I had to create these workshops where I taught them how to be creative and how to come up with ideas.

“Then they came up with ideas and then they came up with a film idea each, one was a documentary and one of them was a music video.”

The workshop continued for months as Liam and the members of the youth group continued to work hard on their ideas.

Brendan Canty, director and recent winner at the Irish Film and Television Awards, also stopped by to mentor the kids as they refined their films.

Then it came time for Liam and the young filmmakers to shoot. “I put a crew together, produced them, directed them and then we premièred on Saturday (of last week).”

The two films were personal in their nature. The documentary depicted two generations in Ballymun, and the music video showed the boys finding their way to the youth group.

“The documentary was about comparing two generations of people, the teenagers of Ballymun and then people in their middle age and talking about their lived experience in the community. What’s changed, what are the challenges, how have the challenges evolved and what was it like to grow up?”

Liam explained that the documentary was a great tool to “give them a voice to express and evoke change”.

The documentary received an emotional reaction from the attendees last Saturday week. “The documentary is very powerful, there were lots of tears in the audience, it got a very emotional, very effective reception.”

The second film, the music video, was a sort of retelling of the boys’ first discovery of the youth group. “It’s difficult to describe,” said Liam.

“In the music video, there’s a lad who’s on his own, he’s isolated and it’s of one of the other guys who notices and brings him into the fold. Then he discovers his family in the youth centre so it’s like a metaphor for the overall experience and it’s very emotional.

“So the film’s had a provocative reaction, lot’s of laughs, lot’s of tears, well received and it was a massive moment for them.” This workshop struck a chord with Liam who, having come from the midlands, knew what it was like to not have access to creative outlets.

“At 24 years of age, there’s still no opportunities to bring any grassroots stuff in the midlands, so it was a fantastic experience.”

Following the success of the Workshops, Liam is now jumping working on his next project. “I just put in my notice an hour ago. I’m leaving so I can put my film career into full gear, so that’s, as they say, I’m backing myself.”

His new film, Ice Pop is his main focus now. “It tackles themes of legacy and bitterness and resentment and the kind of kinship, brotherhood about two brothers who have to go back to the family home. After their father dies, they have to confront how different their relationships and perspectives of their father were.

“One of them is the estranged creative kind who had a kind of laissez faire relationship with their father.

The other is the Mr Reliable, good at sports, good at everything, the stable job in accounting, the golden child.

“So it’s about how after you die, you mean lots of different things to lots of different people, and how your legacy is perceived. It’s a black comedy.”

The main thing in Liam’s way currently is finding a house to film in, but he’s optimistic. Following his experience as a mentor to the Ballymun kids, he has decided that places like Westmeath also need more grassroots film projects.

“I’m looking to bring more of this kind of grassroots filmmaking to the midlands and I want to see more. I’d love to see more projects like this being supported by local governments and it’s achievable.

“I possibly might be involved in some projects in the midlands this year, but I definitely would love to see more grassroots filming in the surrounding are.

“If you just have the right people in these positions and with a bit of vision I think you can make these films that can have the potential to change people’s lives, so that’s what I’d love to do.”