Eva Birthistle has over twenty years of acting experience. She moved behind the camera with her short film Kathleen Was Here, which she also wrote. Now, her feature directorial debut, Kathleen Is Here, arrives and continues the story of Kathleen, played by Hazel Doupe, as a young woman who has just aged out of the care system and has to make her way in the world with the help of her support worker, Aaron Monaghan, and her neighbours she played by Clare Dunne and Peter Conan. We spoke with Birthistle to find out what it was like to make the move from short to feature director.
The film is a sequel to your 2021 short film, Kathleen Was Here. Why did you this story as your first feature?
I had written the feature and was trying to get it greenlit when Screen Ireland rightly said they needed to see something else before giving me money to make a feature. They suggested that I go away and make a short film. I thought about making a short as a proof of concept. The short is set leading to when we meet Kathleen in the feature. The nice thing is that the short works as a standalone so it can have its own life at festivals, but it also allowed Screen Ireland really to have a clear sense of what I wanted to make and its tone, and thankfully, it worked out great.
Where did the idea come from?
I started working on the feature over ten years ago. It’s essential to our well-being to have connections to other people. I was interested in what would happen to someone who doesn’t have strong connections to anyone. I was also looking at grief, and I was very interested in examining mother-daughter relationships. Thematically it was the same as the feature, but it was quite a different story and had a lot more humour. Over the years, it went in a more serious and darker direction. While I was researching, I came across a teenage girl in the States going through the foster system. Her blog led me down a rabbit hole of stories about kids in similar situations. I was really taken by that juncture when kids become young adults, come out of care, and try to connect with the outside world. Most don’t have the right support system when they come out of care. They have to find their own way, and that is when Kathleen’s story came to me. I was interested in how people connect differently nowadays, especially with social media. I was also interested in how we can portray ourselves on the outside compared to what’s going on the inside and all the things that encompass that. I was looking at a person on the margins of society, trying to make a life for herself and what that looked like for her.
Did making the short prepare you for the feature?
I was very glad I did the short; walking into a feature set for the first time without shooting anything would be too daunting. The short was an amazing experience. We did it over two days, and I desperately wanted to do more. I felt I could do it, was ready, and wanted to continue the experience. We didn’t have long to make the feature, just 20 days. In the first week, I felt like I had imposter syndrome, and I had lots of self-doubt. I think lots of people do when they make their first feature. I also had drive and felt compelled to do this because I’ve lived with this story for over ten years. The wonderful people at Treasure stuck with the project for a long time, which was amazing, and I had such an incredible crew. Short feature shoots are tough work. You’re cramming a lot into every day; it’s a big ask. I think people involved do it because they believe in the project and like the script. We had an incredible team, and I learned a huge amount. My cast was amazing. They loved the script and were really open to trying things out. We managed to have a laugh, which was great, considering how dark the story was. I think it’s essential to have humour during a shoot, especially when it’s dealing with a heavier subject matter. A bit of fun keeps everybody sane. It keeps everybody together, and it keeps trust between each other, which meant we had a lovely atmosphere on set.
You have been an actor for many years. Did your experience make you more aware of the importance of having a good atmosphere on set?
I was certain that if I was going to make my own film, expecting people to turn up every day, I absolutely wanted them to be happy and feel like they were getting as much out of the job as I was. I hope I did that. I’ve worked as an actor for over 20 years, so I think I brought all that to where I am now. I’ve been informed by all my experiences, good and bad.
Hazel Doupe is a brilliant actor. What was it like working with her?
Hazel is the best. She started acting when she was quite young, so she has this comfort on set. She has a really good work ethic. She turns up, and she works. She had one day off in the shoot, but she’s up for that. She has a robustness about her, but she’s also chilled, happy, and good fun on set. Hazel has an extraordinary ability to do a huge amount when she’s completely still. I love that in an actor. There are many scenes in the film where she has no dialogue, but she has to tell the audience a lot. She has to emote a lot. She can do that in a deep, distinct way that makes you want to lean in, know more, and wonder about what’s going on in her head. I think that is a special quality. She’s also collaborative, open to trying anything out, and lovely with the cast and crew. She was a dream.
Clare Dunne, Peter Conan, and Aaron Monaghan are three of the hardest-working actors in Ireland today. Did it make you feel safe as a first-time director to have three actors with that level of experience?
When you have actors of that calibre and that experience, you know that they’re going to turn up and have their homework done and be ready for it. They’re very comfortable on camera, and as a first-time director, it’s really helpful to know that they know what they’re doing. I’d like to think that my actors also felt competent enough with me as a director, and if they needed help, they could also ask me. It is a two-way thing, but I did feel blessed to have them.
Did you think about acting in the film?
It was suggested early on that I should consider it, but I quickly said absolutely not. I have my plate full, and I don’t want to dilute my experience as a director. I was clear and certain that that was the right thing to do. Further down the line, that’s something I would consider, but certainly not at this stage. I think it was really important to throw myself into the directing, and because I wrote the script, I was still working on it. If I found myself in front of the camera, I would have given myself too much to manage.
You have worked with many directors. Did any of them influence the type of director you want to be?
I’m lucky enough to say that there are a few, but the one who comes to mind straightaway is Ken Loach, who I worked with on Ae Fond Kiss. He’s such an incredible human being, and his way of working with cast and crew is very special and very unique. Everybody is treated fairly and respectfully, and it’s really fun, and he creates a caring, safe place to be. Dearbhla Walsh [Bad Sisters] brings her never-ending energy to the set. It is extraordinary and infectious, and she’s a genius at blocking scenes. Where she puts the camera is a constant learning experience. John Crowley [Brooklyn] for his knowledge of characters and story. These are just three of the many I could mention.
What do you want audiences to take away from the film?
What I always feel like when I watch a film is that if it sparks a conversation afterwards, that’s a good film for me. I hope that people see that this area is overlooked and underfunded. People come out of the care system, and there is very little support for them. It is not a new start for these people; their difficulties don’t end. There’s a whole new host of problems and issues to tackle. It is a serious subject that needs more light to be shed on it, so I’m hoping the film will do that.
Words – Cara O’Doherty
KATHLEEN IS HERE is at cinemas from Oct 18th