Irish Women in Film II
In this conversation recorded at the 2025 Capital Irish Film Festival, host Martin Nutty sits down with two trailblazing Irish filmmakers who are pushing boundaries in their respective genres.
Aislinn Clarke discusses her groundbreaking Irish-language horror film Fréwaka, exploring how her childhood love of horror (she saw The Exorcist at seven!) and her father's commitment to preserving the Irish language converged into a unique cinematic vision. Clarke reveals the gift of discovering the perfect location for the film in Ravensdale Forest, and why horror fans have always embraced foreign language films. With international distribution through IFC Shutter and more projects in development, Clarke is proving that Irish-language cinema can compete on the global stage.
Tanya Doyle takes us behind the scenes of her five-year documentary odyssey Eat, Sleep, Cheer, and Repeat, which follows Ireland's cheerleading team to the World Championships in Florida. What began as a search for a film about women in sport became an intimate portrait of athleticism, identity, and belonging. Doyle shares the moment she knew cheerleading was the story—watching a young competitor vomit from sheer physical exertion—and defends the sport against anyone who questions its legitimacy. With 160 hours of footage to wrangle and characters lost to COVID shutdowns, the film became a testament to resilience both on and off screen.
Both filmmakers discuss the challenges of funding independent cinema in Ireland, the intimacy of the editing process, and the importance of creating spaces where diverse stories can flourish. Whether you're interested in horror, documentary filmmaking, Irish language revival, or women in sport, this episode offers rich insights into the craft and passion of contemporary Irish cinema.
Links
Films
- Preview: Eat, Sleep, Cheer, and Repeat
- Preview: Fréwaka
Aislinn Clarke
Tanya Doyle
Solas Nua
Irish Stew Links
- Website
- Media Partner: IrishCentral
Episode Details: Season 8, Episode 7; Total Episode Count: 148
00:00 - Introduction
03:41 - Film Origins: Eat/Sleep/Cheer/Repeat
06:03 - Film Origins: Fréwaka
07:15 - Funding Challenges
11:05 - Scripting - Shooting - Editing
15:10 - Fréwaka Location
16:43 - ESCR: Is Cheer a Sport?
17:42 - Irish Langauge Film and Subtitles
19:10 - Distribution
20:10 - Women and Horror Affinity
22:58 - ESCR: At the World Champs
24:28 - ESCR: Affirming Inclusiveness
25:42 - Fréwaka: 20 Day Shoot
26:46 - Fréwaka: Irish Language Actors
27:43 - ESCR: Cutting Down 160 Hours of Footage
29:00 - Next Projects
30:42 - Martin Recap
32:51 - Credits
Director / Producer
Heralded by the Irish Times as “a chronicler of the ordinary” Tanya Doyle is a multi-award-winning Irish director whose work is characterised by strong personal narratives driven by a powerful visual sensibility. Tanya established her credentials as an award-winning documentary filmmaker with THE HOUSE, her directorial debut for television. A gripping, autobiographical account of her family’s experience growing up in West Dublin it examines the ideas of home, change, progression and shared experiences in a family dealing with loss and alcoholism.
Following the success of The House, Tanya directed the “insightful, original and innovative” six-part documentary series BIA DUCHAIS, exploring the history of Irish food. Her multi-award-winning creative short documentary WATERLILIES -a meditation on identity and wisdom- premiered at the Guth Gafa International Documentary Festival, had its US Premiere at AFI Docs. A hit with audiences young and old it has been broadcast in Ireland and on TVO, Canada.
Tanya holds a 1st Class MA in Screen Documentary from Goldsmiths, University of London. She has honed her skills and visual style in the Production and Camera departments of prestigious productions, including the Oscar-winning ONCE.
Tanya continues to build on the growing acclaim for her work with her recently completed debut feature documentary EAT / SLEEP / CHEER / REPEAT and is currently in development with two feature documentary projects, her first scripted feature, a dramatic short film as well as her ongoing commercial and television projects.
Irish Writer / Director
Aislinn Clarke is an Irish Writer/Director. She holds the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Gold Fellowship for Women 2020. Her debut feature film The Devil’s Doorway was released in the USA by IFC Midnight in 2018. It has also been released in Brazil, Japan, the Middle East, Germany, Canada, the U.K., and Ireland. The film premiered in the Official Competition at the Seattle International Film Festival and had its European premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh, where Aislinn was nominated for the Bingham Ray New Talent Award. The film played at many of the premier horror film festivals worldwide (Frightfest, Sitges etc).She was nominated for Screen International’s Rising Genre Star Award at Fright fest. She has been described as a “real genre talent” by noted British genre critic Kim Newman and as “one of the most brilliant directors ever” by Oscar-nominated director Lexi Alexander (The Punisher and Green Room). Her newest film, Fréwaka, will be her first horror feature in the Irish language.
