In an Irish Home

Still from the Irish film, The Summit, directed by Nick Ryan.

“Curiosity will conquer fear more than bravery will”, so said Irish poet and novelist James Stephens.

Yesterday I was curious, fearful and brave nearly all in one breadth.

Here’s what happened…Around lunchtime it occurred to me that I was blessed to be in Park City, Utah attending what is, without a doubt, one of the most prestigious film events in the world. Enjoying films, educating myself and attending some parties is absolutely brilliant but I started thinking about what a waste it would be to not use this opportunity to reach out to the Irish community at Sundance. What a bigger waste not to tell you, Dear Readers, about the cinematic work the Irish brought to Sundance.

So, I wrote a blog about the “short” film called Irish Folk Furniture. I linked the story to YouTube so you could see the film and mentioned how director Tony Donoghue had won the Short Film Special Jury Award in Animation.

Next, I set my sight on the other Irish entry, The Summit, which has been nominated for the World Cinema Documentary Award at Sundance. It’s been a good year for the Irish at Sundance!

Figuring out how to see The Summit and meet director Nick Ryan had me stumped. I tried to purchase tickets to the film weeks ago but had been unable. It was completely sold out. I even went to the Sundance Box Office on several occasions and had been told “not a chance”. Seeing the film wasn’t my only desire, however. I wanted to meet Nick Ryan. I wanted to interview him for In an Irish Home. I wanted for you to learn something about Nick and The Summit that wasn’t already printed somewhere else. That was my curiosity.

My fear is that I don’t see myself as a journalist. I see myself as a writer. Even if I could get an interview with Nick Ryan, would he see me as a joke? Would he feel I was wasting his time with my trite questions? Is my blog too small for someone who’s achieving such big success? Doubt filled me with fear.

Then something happened. I decided to let curiosity win over fear. Bravery stepped in too. I decided what I needed was to try and, if necessary, fail. After all, isn’t that what I’m trying to teach my daughters? So I went back up to Park City’s Main Street and marched into the Sundance Box Office once more. While I walked I asked God to “please let me meet a ‘real’ journalist so I could pick his or her brain and learn {quickly} how to be a good interviewer”.

Once again the Box Office told me “no dice”. So, somewhat dejected but also very determined, I did what any Irish writer might do…I headed to the nearest Irish pub. In this case it happened to be Flannigans. I marched up to the bar, ordered myself a Baileys on ice and, quite by accident, sat down next to my friend David Germain, from Associated Press! Wow…God could I also have a million dollars?

David is a dote. He listened as I shared my curiosity and my fear. He encouraged me to keep trying and then he did something utterly wonderful. He picked up his phone and sent a message to Nick Ryan’s publicist asking her for a ticket to the film for me and, better still, asked if Nick had time to meet me.

I was gobsmacked.

The next few hours flew by and before I knew it, I was offered a ticket and a meeting for Friday evening.

As any Irish story goes, this one just gets better. While at a party last night I was talking with photographer Michael Coles. And, after hearing my story, Michael asked if he could come along and photograph Nick for the article.

And so, Dear Readers, I think James Stephens was nearly right…curiosity did conquer my fear but bravery definitely helped. I am terrified to meet Nick but I’m going to do this for me and for you. I’ve got my questions ready and a world class photographer to hold my hand. Wish me luck and say a little prayer for me, won’t you?

I’ll follow up with a post on Saturday and let you how it went.