The Enigma of Frank Ryan

A new film featuring a soundtrack of recordings by Irish composers will be screened as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival (JDIFF) on Saturday, 18 February 2012.

The Enigma of Frank Ryan

The Enigma of Frank Ryan is a sympathetic but searching exploration of the life of Frank Ryan (1902- 1944). Ryan was a teenage IRA volunteer, dissident republican and Spanish International Brigade volunteer, and ended his life working for the Nazis in wartime Berlin. The film, which draws on Ryan’s letters and journalism, uses archival images and dramatised sections to explore the story which centres on Ryan’s split loyalties.

Directed by Belfast-based director, Des Bell, the film uses a number of recordings by Irish composers, many of which are drawn from CMC’s Contemporary Music from Ireland CD series. Composers who feature are Deirdre McKay, Gareth Williams, Roger Doyle, David Fennessy, Dave Flynn, Scott McLaughlin, and Benjamin Dwyer.

The film is funded by TG4, Northern Ireland Screen, Broadcast Authority of Ireland, Leverhulme Trust, AHRC, and Commune de Lamalou Les Bains.

The screening takes place at the newly reopened Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield at 6:30pm on 18 February 2012. Tickets are available from the JDIFF web site.

Further information
– Online booking
– www.enigmafrankryan.com
– Jameson Dublin international film festival
– Lighthouse Cinema

Music used
Deirdre McKay – A Pale Yellow Sky; Secundum; Plunkett’s Last Words; Dieppe
Scott McLaughlin- Bifurcations
Dave Flynn – The Valley of the Lunatics
Gareth Williams – ’Ness (2nd / 3rd Movement)
Jennifer Walshe – My Extensive Relationship with Mr. Stephen Patrick M.
Roger Doyle – The Ninth Set (Sector 1)
David Fennessy – BIG LUNG
Benjamin Dwyer – Al Andalus