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To mark the release of song of Granite on 2nd April, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on DVD.

Directed by Pat Collins, a critically-acclaimed biopic charting the rise of traditional Irish folk singer Joe Heaney and how the songs of his west of Ireland childhood helped shape his complex character.

Enigmatic and complex, Joe Heaney was one of the traditional Irish singing (sean nós). Shaped by the myths, fables and songs of his upbringing in the west of Ireland, his emergence as a gifted artist came at a personal cost.

Featuring performances from Colm Seoighe, Macdara Ó’Fátharta, Jaren Cerf, Lisa O’Neill, Damien Dempsey and sean nós singers Micheál O’Confhaola and Pól Ó Ceannabháin and beautiful black and white cinematography, Song Of Granite is a distinct portrait of Heaney’s life and a marvellous exploration of music and song.

Please note: This competition is open...

Pat Collins’ retracing of the colourful journey of the sean-nós singer is poetic, innovative and a treat to all lovers of Irish folk music

In order to tell the story of sean-nós singer Joe Heaney, Pat Collins blends a documentarian’s attachment to authenticity with a poet’s flair for innovation and unconventional storytelling. A biopic not quite like any other, this measured, oblique but luminous film unfolds in a series of long held shots and scratchy newsreel clips to show how Heaney (played by Michael O’Chonfhlaola, Macdara Ó Fátharta and Colm Seoighe, as well as the addition of archive material) emerged from rural Galway in the mid-20th century and ended up performing at the legendary Newport folk festival with the Clancy Brothers in the late 60s. Along the way he performed in pubs, helped build stone walls and worked as a doorman in New York City. However,...

"The songbirds of the air listened in wonder to this song, the most beautiful song in life." Oscilloscope Laboratories has debuted an official Us trailer for a film titled Song of Granite, which is Ireland's entry into the Academy Awards this year. This film is about an Irish singer named Joe Heaney, who was one of the greats of traditional Irish singing (also known as sean nós). Similar to I'm Not There in a way, this seems to involve various musicians and actors playing Heaney, and it's shot in stunning B&W which seems to make it all the more mesmerizing. Starring Colm Seoighe (as young Joe Heaney), Mícheál Ó Chonfhaola (as Joe Heaney, 40s), Macdara Ó Fátharta (as Joe Heaney, 60s) & Jaren Cerf (as Rosie). This looks like a very soulful, moving film full of some exceptional Irish singing and captivating cinematography. See below. Here's the first official Us...

We’re in the thick of the awards season, and it’s always an exciting time, not just for the prestige pictures from Hollywood, but from the unique selections from around the world that enter the race. Ireland has chosen “Song Of Granite” to represent the country this year, and the evocative portrait of legendary Irish folksinger Joe Heaney will certainly leave an impression.

Directed by Pat Collins, with Colm Seoighe in the lead role, the film traces Heaney’s journey, which took him from rural Connemara through Glasgow and eventually to New York City, as his music and voice gained admiration and acclaim around the world.

Continue reading ‘Song Of Granite’ Trailer: A Gorgeous Portrait Of Irish Folksinger Joe Heaney [Exclusive] at The Playlist.

Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.

– IFC Films has acquired the U.S rights to director Jamie M. Dagg’s thriller “Sweet Virginia,” starring Jon Bernthal, Christopher Abbott, Imogen Poots, Rosemarie DeWitt and Odessa Young. The film, which premiered at the recent Tribeca Film Festival, was written by Ben and Paul China from their Black List script, and was produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones for Automatik, Chris Ferguson for Oddfellows and Fernando Loureiro and Roberto Vasconcellos for Exhibit, who also financed.

Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Focus Features Picks Up ‘Tully,’ Electric Entertainment Buys ‘Lbj’ and More

Xyz Films is currently handling international sales and will screen the film at the upcoming Marché du Film at Cannes. “Sweet Virginia” is a riveting thriller that...

So often, films that focus on the rise or talent of a notable musician spend an inordinate amount of time insisting on that figure’s unmistakable genius. It’s refreshing, then, to see a film like Pat Collins’ “Song of Granite” that charts the origins and eventual rise of Irish folk singer Joe Heaney (Seosamh Ó hÉanaí) while giving equal time to Heaney’s surroundings. From Ireland’s breathtaking natural wonders to the citizens lining its streets and filling its drinking establishments, this continuous emphasis on both talent and environment makes for a far more satisfying portrait of an artist at all ages. Modest in subject but ambitious in form, “Song of Granite” delivers a profile of not just a singer but the country that made him.

Early on, Collins shows Heaney’s talent as inextricable from the village of Carna where he was raised. We see no formal vocal education,...