Aisling Walsh (born 1958) is an Irish screenwriter and director. Her work has screened at festivals around the world and she has won several accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award for Room at the Top (2012) as well as an Irish Film and Television Award and a Canadian Screen Award for her direction of Maudie (2016).[1][2] She is known for her "unflinching honest portrayals of a Catholic Irish society".[3]
Aisling Walsh | |
|---|---|
 Walsh at Berlinale in 2017 | |
| Born | 1958 (age 65–66) Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Alma mater | Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology |
| Occupation(s) | director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Spouse | Dermot Ryan 1980-2018 (his death) |
Early life
editShe was born in Dublin, Ireland to Raphael Walsh, a furniture designer and manufacturer from Navan, County Meath. In 1975, when Walsh was 16, she began studies at the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dublin.[4] She then continued her education at The National Film School in Beaconsfield, England, where one of her main influences was Bill Douglas, a Scottish filmmaker who tutored at the school.[5] She later settled in London.[6]
Career
editIn 1985, Walsh wrote and directed her first short film, Hostage.[7] Her feature film directorial debut was Joyriders (1989). She then transitioned into television work throughout the 1990s,[8] including episodes of The Bill (1991–1994), Doctor Finlay (1993), Roughnecks (1995), and Trial & Retribution (1997–2002).[8][9]
In 2003, she wrote and directed her second feature film, Song for a Raggy Boy, which won multiple awards at international film festivals,[10] including Best Film at the Copenhagen International Film Festival.[11] Her third feature, The Daisy Chain, a horror-thriller film, was released in 2008.[12]
Throughout the 2000s and early 2010s, Walsh also continued working in television, directing series and television films such as the BAFTA TV Award-nominated Fingersmith (2005); the BBC One film Sinners (2007);[13] The Fifth Woman, a feature-length episode of the BBC series Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh (2010); and Room at the Top (2012), which earned her a BAFTA TV Award in 2013 for Best Mini-Series.[2]
In 2014, she directed A Poet in New York, exploring how Welsh poet Dylan Thomas died in New York at the age of 39.[14] The film marked the centenary of Thomas' birth on 27 October 1914.[15]
Her fourth feature film, the biographical film Maudie (2016) about Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis,[16] premiered at the Telluride Film Festival.[17] As someone who studied painting herself,[8] Walsh was drawn to the simplicity and beauty in Lewis's work.[18] The film received positive reviews from critics.[19] The Japan Times called it "an unabashedly intimate portrait of a remarkable woman".[20] It was a New York Times Critic's Pick; in her review, Manohla Dargis criticized the film's tone and score, but commended the performances and direction.[21]
For her work on Maudie, Walsh won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Director; the film won a total of seven awards at the 6th annual ceremony in 2018.[22] Walsh also won the award for Best Director at the 15th annual Irish Film and Television Awards in 2018.[23]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Hostage | Short film |
| 1988 | Joyriders | Debut feature film |
| 2003 | Song for a Raggy Boy | Feature film |
| 2004 | Visions of Europe | Segment "Invisible State" |
| 2008 | The Daisy Chain | Feature film |
| 2016 | Maudie | Feature film |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1991–1994 | The Bill | 14 episodes |
| 1993 | Doctor Finlay | 4 episodes |
| 1995 | Roughnecks | 7 episodes |
| 1995–1996 | The Governor | 2 episodes |
| 1997–2002 | Trial & Retribution | 6 episodes |
| 2000 | Forgive and Forget | TV film |
| 2000 | Little Bird | TV film |
| 2002 | Sinners | TV film |
| 2005 | Fingersmith | TV mini-series; 3 episodes |
| 2009 | Eadar-Chluich | 1 episode |
| 2010 | Wallander | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Room at the Top | TV mini-series; 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Loving Miss Hatto | TV film |
| 2014 | A Poet in New York | TV film |
| 2015 | An Inspector Calls | TV film |
| 2019 | Elizabeth is Missing | TV film |
References
edit- ^ "Aisling Walsh wins Irish best director award for Maudie". CBC News. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- ^ a b Cummins, Steve. "Graham Norton and Aisling Walsh among Irish BAFTA winners". The Irish Post. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- ^ "Interview: Irish writer/director Aisling Walsh Shares Secrets of Filmmaking | The Irish Film & Television Network". www.iftn.ie. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- ^ "Meet director Aisling Walsh - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ Risker, Paul (8 August 2017). "'Maudie' Director Aisling Walsh on the Enduring Appeal of Cinema's Collaborative Nature". PopMatters. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ Silverstein, Melissa (15 June 2017). ""Maudie" Director Aisling Walsh on Relationships, Perseverance, and Bringing Maud Lewis to Life". Women and Hollywood. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ "IFTN talks to Maudie Director Aisling Walsh | The Irish Film & Television Network". www.iftn.ie. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- ^ a b c "Meet director Aisling Walsh who reveals how her own training as a painter made her determined to make 'Maudie'". Independent.ie. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- ^ "Aisling Walsh | London Film School". lfs.org.uk. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- ^ "Kildare Brings Aisling Walsh 'In Focus'", IFTN, 13 May 2008; accessed 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Raggy Boy wins at Danish film fest". RTÉ. 21 August 2003. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- ^ "The Daisy Chain". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- ^ "Sinners (2002)". BFI. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- ^ Jackson, James (4 September 2013). "Tom Hollander cast as Dylan Thomas in new drama, A Poet in New York". The Times. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
- ^ "New drama by Andrew Davies to mark centenary of Dylan Thomas's birth". BBC. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
- ^ Baughan, Nikki (August 2017). "Maudie". Sight and Sound. 27 (8): 74 – via Academic Search Premier.
- ^ "Conversation with Aisling Walsh". Scannain. 10 May 2017.
- ^ Minow, Nell. "A Portrait of the Outsider Artist: Aisling Walsh on "Maudie"". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ Maudie - Rotten Tomatoes, retrieved 16 March 2018
- ^ "Aisling Walsh paints a cinematic ode to an artist in 'Maudie'". The Japan Times. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- ^ Dargis, Manohla (15 June 2017). "Review: In 'Maudie', a Painter Spins Beauty From Despair". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- ^ "'Maudie' wins leading seven trophies at Canadian Screen Awards - CityNews Toronto". CityNews Toronto. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
- ^ "Iftas 2018: 'I'm a Traveller, I can't get an agent, but this is still a huge moment for me'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 March 2018.