This haunting film-poem explores the literary and other ghosts of the bohemian quarter bordering Dublin’s Baggot Street during the mid-20th century.
“Baggotonia”, as it has become known, was both a permeable geographic area and a cultural movement, populated by writers, artists and other intellectuals living an anarchic life at odds with the overarching drabness and conservative mores of the time. Inspired by a rare collection of photographs from artist Nevill Johnson, the film is shot in starkly beautiful Leica monotone and draws upon writings from the period, including by Patrick Kavanagh, Elizabeth Bowen, Samuel Beckett, Blanaid Salkeld, John Montague, Eavan Boland, Paul Durcan, Ethna McCarthy, Thomas Kinsella amongst many others.
Running Time: 85 minutes
Alan Gilsenan
Ghosts of Baggotonia
Alan Gilsenan
Ghosts of Baggotonia
Alan Gilsenan
Alan Gilsenan is an award-winning Irish writer, film-maker and theatre director. His diverse body of film-work extends across documentary, feature films and experimental work. Ghosts of Baggotonia is an act of psycho-geography as well as a personal meditation on Alan Gilsenan’s own childhood, where he grew up amidst the ghosts on the mythical Raglan Road. His own poetic script frames the film and features a remarkable original soundtrack from composer Brian Crosby. The film is Narrated by Alan Gilsenan and Camille O’Sullivan.
