Shane's Screen Test

Leading film distributor, Buena Vista Ireland, has signed a deal with Irish language television station TG4 to screen a documentary about former Pogues frontman, songwriter supreme and legendary hellraiser Shane MacGowan.

Originally scheduled for broadcast on Christmas Day, the as yet untitled Shane MacGowan story will now receive a national cinema release sometime in April. The film, produced by EMDEE 2000 and co-funded by TG4 and Bord Scannan na hEireann, saw a film crew under the direction of Sarah Share following Shane over a period of his life last year to gain a unique insight into one of our must controversial stars. The singer speaks candidly about his personal demons and his battles to survive them, making for extremely compelling, if not always comfortable, viewing.

"The story is a powerful one," says Buena Vista's Brendan McCaul. "Shane MacGowan is arguably one of the most resilient performers of the modern age. His journey through the clichi of drink, drugs and rock 'n' roll - and the durability of his music - is a fascinating tale."

Although the terms of the deal meant that it had to be pulled from their Christmas Day schedule, the 80-minute film will be screened by TG4 after it's completed its big screen run,

"We're delighted with the news," gushes station M.D. Siun Ni Raghallaigh. "From the outset we wanted our documentary strand to form a challenging and innovative part of our schedule. Buena Vista Ireland's decision to release this documentary as a movie in cinemas is further endorsement of TG4's culture of nurturing quality, home produced programming."

MacGowan himself is reportedly extremely pleased with the finished product. "Shane thinks it is the most honest and true material that has ever been done about him," explains Sarah Share. "Some of it is quite hard-hitting but Shane doesn't have any problem with that. He is prepared to take it on the chin."

Share herself was "blown away" when Buena Vista decided to take the movie on. "So few documentaries go to cinemas," she notes, "and Buena Vista don't just want to put the film on in the IFC or in arthouse cinemas, they want to put it on general release to audiences all around Ireland."

Although commissioned by TG4, the documentary is entirely in English with nary a czpla focal to be heard. "Initially, TG4 had wanted me to do a few interviews in Irish. But they later decided that would be a bit contrived and unnecessary and that it was such an Irish story, that it was valid for them to commission it," Sarah Share explains. "A lot of the things that Shane talks about mean that it sits very comfortably in the TG4 schedule, so they were very happy to stand over it and not put some of it in Irish just for the sake of it.

"Shane says a lot about the Irish. The film has a lot of resonance, in terms of his growing up in London and how we view our Irishness. People come away from this film saying that they are still dwelling on it two hours later."

Obviously, considering it tells the tale of one of our favourite and most talented songwriters, Shane's music features heavily in the documentary. "People tend to forget that when you put all the really strong Pogues songs together and listen to it at full blast, the music is incredible," enthuses Share.

The movie has also been lengthened from its original 60-minute duration to almost an hour and a half. "This means that we can play the songs in their entirety, so the music is very strong in it and is treated with great respect," Share boasts. "I have some live material recorded in the Olympia just before Christmas, which was a brilliant gig, and some archive material of Shane with the Pogues, as well as video footage."

Speaking of MacGowan, the producer feels that the former Pogues mainman has turned a corner in his personal life: "He is enjoying a renaissance at the moment. His health has really improved over the last year and he has got himself together and cut back on a lot of stuff. He is ready to get out there and start working properly again."

Meanwhile, TG4 begins a new eight-part music series on Sunday, January 21st. Entitled Flosc, it takes a stylistic and challenging approach to traditional Irish music. Each programme has three elements: specially commissioned videos on eight established Irish traditional bands, live music, and three-minute profiles. Flosc airs on TG4 on Sundays, from January 21st, at 9.55pm, repeated on Thursdays at 9pm.