Interview With Award Winning Director Keith O’Grady
Keith O’Grady’s Bachelors and a Masters degree in film production created an incredible foundation. Aside from being a film director first and foremost, O’Grady is trained in a number of disciplines, including acting.
O’Grady’s directing credits include the documentary biopics ‘Bram Stoker & Dracula’ and ‘Robert Burns’; and the multi-award-nominated documentary film ‘Vótaí Do Mhná’ for TG4; the BBC films ‘An Colaiste Éireannach’, the series ‘Féilte is Fleadh’ and the award-winning short drama ‘A short film about fear’, which played at festivals across Europe and North America. Keith’s debut feature will be released this year.
His film ‘SAVING SANTA’ recently won BEST FILM At The Follow Your Dreams Film Festival.
Keith O’Grady on set of SAVING SANTA with actress Éva Morris
OUR INTERVIEW WITH KEITH O’GRADY
Was there an inspirational moment or an idea that made you want to make your film?
I had been tinkering around with a few ideas on trying to make a short that dealt with compassion as a central theme. I had made a documentary years ago about ‘street drinkers’, people who aren’t homeless, but who can’t be at home by themselves – they need to be out in the open air, and I always hoped I’d get the opportunity to return to that subject. Then, in 2016, I had just come off doing four documentary films for the BBC about Irish priests saving the language and culture of Ireland in the 17th century (I had wanted to make a positive film about the priests for years, and when the opportunity came along to do it in a historical context, I took it. After a few projects didn’t get the green light, ‘Saving Santa’ came my way, and I adopted the same attitude as I had with the priests story. Here was a script that I could mould to be a story I wanted to tell. It was the idea that the little girl could ‘see’ him. The idea that she didn’t care about anything else, other than knowing she could help him be ok.
Aside from normal production issues. Did you overcome any obstacles while completing the film?
There were a few. Mostly relatively normal issues that can be encountered on any production. For example, the totally unexpected extreme heat we filmed in. We shot it in early May (in Ireland, this doesn’t normally give you what you’d call tropical weather), and it was really very HOT. So the actors had to be kept away shaded, when not on camera. However, there were other issues that came to light during filming too, that we had to work around. It became apparent that the actor playing ‘Santa McCann’ wasn’t fit enough for two of the scenes, and those scenes had to be re-planned (one of them was cut eventually anyway for story momentum). Also, he unfortunately passed away very suddenly a couple of months after shooting. He had been in Berlin working after our film, and had a great time, so it was a big shock when he passed. We we’re waiting on an opportunity to get him into the sound studio to some re-voicing in post, but he passed before the scheduled time. It was only two lines I wanted to re-record with him, both because of sound quality, but we masked the issues with other sounds as best we could. It was a tough time, because his son actually wrote the screenplay, and wrote it for his father to do it, so it was a great pity he never got to see it finished.
What camera(s) did you shoot your film with?
It was shot using the Sony FS7 Super 35mm Digital Cinematography camera, and with Cine-Prime lenses.
Keith O’Grady on set
Which role are you most comfortable with on set?
Director.
Do you have a favorite film genre?
I have favourite genres, but I don’t think I have an out-and-out favourite. As a cineaste, a regular cinema-goer, I love a good comedy, a lot of Crime Drama, and Westerns. I also enjoy Sci-Fi, more at the drama end of Sci-Fi than the fantasy end. I also enjoy Horror, but again, more at the drama/atmosphere end of the genre, rather than the violin-striking, cheap schlock end. I tend to gravitate more towards narrative and character, than I do to genre. I wouldn’t normally be a big musicals fan, but if the story grabs me and is told in an interesting way, (and obviously the songs don’t grate on my ear!) then I’ll enjoy that as much as a violent gangster picture.
What piece of advice would you give to filmmakers making their first film?
The advice I would give would change depending on what the person has done so far, or what they know – i.e. Have they ever even been on a film set before? If you just have a story to tell and feel you want to make something, you have access to equipment and don’t have access to finance yet, then I’d say just get on with it. Make mistakes. Enjoy the process, and learn from it. If any filmmaker wants advice, I think they give someone a reason, something to give you advice on. Good advice will come later. If you spend ages trying to make your first film perfect, it may never get off the ground. It’s just another form of procrastination. I suspect making your first film a masterpiece might be a bad idea anyway. Where do you go from there?
Can you tell us what to expect from you in the near future?
I have a no-budget feature out later this year called ‘The Prince of Pies’, and I’m currently in production on a feature doc about working dogs. I’m developing a few scripts for next year too, two shorts and a feature script, which I intend to be my feature debut as a director.
Visit SAVING SANTA on Facebook at Facebook.com/SantaMcCann