In Wicklow Hills – Lenny Abrahamson Filmmaker Playlist

Our inaugural playlist, curated by director Lenny Abrahamson – renowned for his multi-Academy Award nominated Room (2015) and acclaimed independent films like Adam & Paul (2004), Garage (2007), What Richard Did (2012) and Frank (2014) – visits the Irish Film Institute to select his top picks of materials preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive from the IFI Archive Player.

The films he has selected—from early stop-motion playfulness in Clock Tower Animation (1910s) to homemade sci-fi/horror by cinema-enthusiasts the Spence twins – span decades and counties, but all demonstrate a fascination and experimentation with film and story-telling that informs his unique way of seeing the world.

This short amateur film sees two of Desmond Egan’s daughters taking a stroll along a country lane in Wicklow as the Sugar Loaf Mountain towers in the background. The Sugar Loaf is located between Delgany and Kilmacanogue and, at only 501 meters high, its volcanic appearance and isolation from other hills make it appear much taller than it is. Desmond Egan was a skilled amateur filmmaker with a background in professional production. A wine merchant by trade, he lived with his wife and 4 daughters in Glenageary, Co Dublin. His films were shot between 1937 and 1946 and the collection of silent, colour films includes home movies, short dramas and documentaries on a range of subjects.