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CLINTON LIBERTY After the panels, the young Irish
actor Clinton Liberty took some time to speak with Screen Ireland about his career, the industry, and his upcoming film, Feed. On the panel, you mentioned how the Irish film industry has helped you, even with international films, to get seen. Do you find now that you’re doing international work, people are aware of Ireland? A hundred per cent. Anybody who’s seen my work and is interested in what I’ve done on an international scale – i.e. House of the Dragon – they then look back to what I’ve done before House of the Dragon, and in discovering my past body of work, you have no choice but to come across something like Normal People, Holding, or Red Election, which were all shot in Ireland, under Fís/ Screen Ireland. So, when they see the work that’s been done internationally, they have no choice but to look back at the Irish roots that I come from. For years, there was an issue that, in Ireland, only stage acting was taught to actors. For students, do you think screen acting is becoming more apparent? Oh, absolutely. I helped my cousin to get into The Lir Academy, and at The Lir Academy in Trinity, there’s a mixture of screen and theatre, so it fosters both disciplines. But, yeah, it’s becoming more available and more accessible, and it’s something I’m really proud about, and it’s becoming more representative of the current Ireland we see today. So, yeah, that’s one thing I’m really, really happy about. Apparently, Ireland has some of the most prolific cinema-goers in all of the EU. Do you think…? I was just in the cinema, yesterday! [Both laugh] By myself! Do you think it’s possible for Irish film to be profitable within the Irish market, or do you think there’s a necessity to bring Irish cinema to international markets? No, I don’t think there’s a necessity to bring Irish cinema international. I think, harkening back to what I’ve said before, as long as you’re able to represent the society of Ireland the way it actually is now, which is exactly what is happening at the moment, with training being accessible to everybody… When people see themselves – because, as you know, our art is a mirror to society – so, when people see themselves reflected back to them, you have no choice but to be interested because it’s the places that you’ve grown up in, it’s the grounds that you’ve grown up in, it’s language, and the buildings, and the areas, and I think that’s why things like Holding and Normal People were such massive successes. Not just in Ireland but all over the world because there’s a funny thing with cinema: When you bring it to an authentic place as possible, it actually resonates all over the world, in a weird way. So, yeah, I think the more we represent our society in Ireland, the more the world will come to Ireland and the more we’ll be able to bring the world into our lives. 20 My “Best” Friend Left Me in the River with My Uileann Pipes to Die That is another interesting thing, too, is the proliferation of contemporary Ireland in cinema. For years, I think Irish cinema was always quite reflective. It looked to our history to tell stories – which are, obviously, very important stories. I’m not trying to dismiss that, of course. I think cinema is a really good time capsule and an indication of era. I think it can really build empathy and understanding of different cultures and places. What do you think is the significance of modern-day Ireland, at just capturing the zeitgeist by pointing a camera at it? What do you think people can get from that? It’s just a plethora of different cultures that are meshed into one. Because, as you know, today’s Ireland is very diBerent to the Ireland we know of old, and it’s amazing because of its progress. There are people from diBerent ethnic backgrounds that are born in Ireland and are very Irish, and that’s something that’s beautiful because it’s bringing all of the world’s spices and shaking it up in Ireland. So, I think there’s that; there’s the diBerent diversity. There’s the diversity of matter and topic that we see in the film industry. I think that’s something that’s very interesting and is a pinpoint to focus on within the film industry. Do you think the geographic limitations of Ireland are actually kind of beneficial for that melting pot? I think of other big cities – like London or New York, for example – and people went into di\erent boroughs, areas, and neighbourhoods, but I think in Ireland, because everything is centralised into city centres, it allows