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The Bleak Shall Inherit The Earth

Carmel Winters, the award-winning director of the hard-hitting Irish drama Snap talks to Roe McDermott about kidnap, torture and abuse; working with the late Mick Lally on one of his last ever projects; and how in the past Irish film has sensationalised and simplified tales of abuse.

Roe McDermott, 11 Apr 2011

After winning best film and best director at the Dublin Film Critics’ Circle awards this year and screening to great acclaim at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2011, it’s fair to say that Carmel Winters’ first foray into filmmaking has been a raging success. Having penned plays such as B For Baby for the Abbey Theatre, and taught creative writing in both Ireland and the UK, the Cork native says her long years of writing experience prepared her for directing her self-penned film. “All the defeat along the way, all the disasters and rejection and humiliations leave you quite bomb-proof!” she laughs.

Exploring the relationship between a caustic woman, her son and her father, Snap deals with very sensitive subject matter. When teenager Stephen kidnaps a toddler and is accused of torturing him, both his mother and the audience are forced to question what his motives are, what he’s capable of and what could have driven him to such an horrific crime.

One would think that writing about such harrowing themes would be a difficult, even draining experience, but Winters says she found it “buoyant”.

“This will sound strange,’ she says, “but when you’re writing well it’s a great experience. I’ve probably written more comedies than straight, tough drama. Even if you’re writing comedy and it’s not going well, you fall into the depths of despair. I didn’t find it tough because I knew I could trust my material. And I do feel quite blessed to be able to write something that isn’t often voiced, to bring something to the light that some people might be avoiding.”

Winters does wonder whether she could have written the script if she’d children herself.

“I think if you have children you want to take a more optimistic view of human nature. I wouldn’t like to think I wouldn’t have been able to write it, but emotionally it may have been more difficult. I also mightn’t have had the time to work on it for years without money if I had a child!”



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