'Unicorns' enchant Brittany coast at Dinard Film Festival
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00:00Hello and thanks for joining us.
00:26Today Arts24 is in the delightful seaside town of Dinard in Brittany for France's annual
00:32celebration of British and Irish film.
00:35For 35 years it's been the launchpad for independent gems that go on to conquer the world of cinema.
00:44Shallow Grave in 1994, The Full Monty in 1997, Billy Elliot in 2000 and Girl with a Pearl
00:53Earring in 2003.
00:55They're just some of the films that began life here at the Dinard Festival.
00:59Hugh Grant for Bridget Jones's Diary, Roger Moore, Daniel Craig and Sienna Miller have
01:04been among the many guests over the years.
01:10And of course lots of Irish talent.
01:13It may be an island of only 5 million people but Irish cinema is having something of a
01:18renaissance.
01:19Cillian Murphy became the first Irish actor ever to win an Oscar this year, Barry Keoghan
01:24and Saoirse Ronan both have films showing in Dinard.
01:28And as Jenny Ben-Brahim reports, the festival has officially changed its name to include
01:33Irish cinema in the title.
01:36A green wave sweeping across Hollywood from Barry Keoghan to Saoirse Ronan and Oscar winning
01:43star of Oppenheimer Cillian Murphy and the first ever Irish language film to be nominated
01:48at the Oscars.
01:49It felt like a real moment culturally for us as a nation that a film in our native tongue
02:01should find itself receiving that kind of recognition.
02:07The Quiet Girl is a deeply moving tale set in rural Ireland that warmed the hearts of
02:12those from the Emerald Isle to France's Emerald Coast.
02:16It screened in 2022 at the Dinard Film Festival.
02:19We had such a magical experience here and I'll never forget the response of the audiences
02:26here to the film and we would have people coming up to us you know for several days
02:31after the screening on the street people would come up and thank us for the film and tell
02:35us how much it had moved them.
02:37The festival cementing ties of Ireland by now including it in its official title.
02:43The British and Irish film industries are very interlinked at the same time there's
02:48a very separate identity for Irish filmmakers.
02:53There's traditions of storytelling, there's subjects that are different, there's a lyricism
03:00that is different.
03:03Everyone knows Leon set them two boys against each other.
03:05What are we going to do?
03:06A modern retelling of a Greek tragedy Antigone on the streets of Dublin in Twigg.
03:11There would come a time when these days would be looked back on as happiness.
03:16To a rural meditation on life and friendship in that they may face the rising sun as well
03:22as various interpretations of Ireland's dark history of the IRA and the Troubles as showcased
03:28in the film Baltimore and a poignant documentary The Irish Question on the prospect of a united
03:34Ireland.
03:35Ulster shall remain firm to the very end.
03:43Films need to examine, excavate our joys and our sorrows and I think Irish cinema has but
03:51having had peace in Northern Ireland before we can look to the past which the film tries
03:56to do I think we need to deal with the legacy of trauma which is still there, the legacy
04:02of heartbreak and also the cultural divisions.
04:07Also showing at this year's Dienar Film Festival is Kneecap, a comedy drama following Irish
04:12language rappers.
04:14It's Ireland's official entry at the upcoming Oscars, another chance to add to the country's
04:19ever-growing trophy cabinet.
04:23From social chronicles to wacky comedies, more than 20,000 people gather in Dienar
04:28for the festival.
04:29Around five days, around 50 films are showing on the cinema screens with actors like Tim
04:33Roth and Anthony Hopkins in their latest roles.
04:37Well, finally, finally, finally, we're making progress.
04:42It's something that no other art form can do, it's pure film.
04:53You don't have to be a con man to be a successful film producer anyway.
05:01One of this year's standout films and my favourite is the cross-cultural romance Unicorns.
05:07It stars Ben Hardy who we know from UK TV soap opera EastEnders as well as the hit films
05:12Bohemian Rhapsody and X-Men Apocalypse.
05:15He stars alongside newcomer Jason Patel.
05:22While the film won both the audience and the jury prizes in Dienar, I chatted with one
05:27of the main actors.
05:30Here we are at the Dienar Festival which celebrates Irish and British films.
05:34I'm going to start by asking you what is your favourite British or Irish film of all time?
05:39One that really always touches my soul is East is East, which was actually filmed like
05:46five, ten minutes from where I grew up, but I remember reading that play and then it became
05:50a film and it was just incredible to see them redefining British, Asian characters.
05:58It was just a way for me to connect to my parents and their upbringing.
06:02Who's the most iconic British or Irish on-screen character?
06:06Bridget Jones.
06:07Oh!
06:08Yeah.
06:09That is also one of my favourite films of all time.
06:12Bridget Jones, I feel like I've always said I've been Bridget Jones.
06:16She wears a heart and a sleeve for always.
06:18It's just sometimes someone who allows themselves to be silly, it's okay to make mistakes and
06:24just go with the flow and don't take life seriously.
06:28And then lastly, who's your favourite British or Irish actor?
06:31At the moment, Andrew Scott.
06:34I loved Fleabag, I loved All of Us Strangers, I've seen them perform on stage.
06:38The attention to detail is beautiful and I just really connect with their work.
06:42Okay, and we are here in France, so can you actually say anything in French?
06:45Yes, I've been practising.
06:47Pardon that my French is not good, but I am going to get my phone out.
06:49Ah.
06:52There we go.
06:53Are we ready?
06:54Dinard a conquis mon coeur.
06:56What does it mean?
06:57Dinard has stolen my heart.
06:59Dinard is so amazing, isn't it?
07:00It's so beautiful.
07:08Did you like my shirt?
07:09I hear proper good.
07:11Good?
07:12Oh.
07:13Sexy.
07:14Okay, let's talk about the film then.
07:16Yes.
07:16Unicorns is a cross-cultural romance.
07:19Tell us a bit more about it.
07:21It's a love story at heart about a closeted drag queen and a single dad from Essex.
07:27And they meet by chance at an underground nightclub evening that my character's performing at.
07:34And they meet and they have this incredible spark.
07:37Luke, the character, who's the single dad, doesn't realise that Aisha is not a woman.
07:42So it goes on this journey about identity and it challenges who you are and where you come from
07:50and all these labels that society puts on us and kind of just like block out the noise
07:57and let these people really just find each other in their lives,
08:00whether it's a happy ending, whether it's a sad ending.
08:02Let them give it a shot.
08:06What's up?
08:07I thought you were...
08:09First time you've kissed someone like me?
08:13Got to go.
08:17Can we start again?
08:19You need money?
08:21I need a lift.
08:24I'm getting...
08:25Oh, you look loved.
08:26Oh, thanks.
08:27Who's excited for mantra?
08:29Yeah!
08:35What was it like acting with Ben?
08:37Oh, it was absolutely wonderful.
08:40I think we had this incredible spark and chemistry from the beginning
08:45and were really comfortable from the get-go and very vulnerable with each other.
08:50And I just don't think that you can buy that sort of chemistry.
08:52And he's literally like one of my best friends, can't get him out of my life now.
08:56So we hope that we get to work together again because we just had such a good time on this project.
09:01Why is it called Unicorns?
09:02You know, it's like these mythical creatures, you know, it's got so much to do with rainbows.
09:07It's got a lot of different meanings as well, sexually as well,
09:10which you don't necessarily have to go into.
09:12So it's got so many different layers to that.
09:14And so these two characters are two different unicorns.
09:25Take me home.
09:28And did you feel a lot of pressure playing this character?
09:31I think I felt pressure on myself because I wanted to do a good job.
09:35I knew how much this project meant not only to me,
09:39but to everyone that made it and to the people that would watch it.
09:43I really wanted them to feel like it was their own and that they connect to it.
09:48It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like.
09:52Everyone from everywhere can connect to it.
09:54And I think this festival has really been a testament to that
09:57because I've looked at the audiences and they don't necessarily look like me
10:02or are my age range and they love the film.
10:04I get stopped on the street, which is wild, by people and they're like,
10:08we love this film, it's incredible.
10:11And we connect to it and it made me cry and laugh.
10:14And I was really rooting for you.
10:16People are always scared of the unknown.
10:18So this is a really good way for people to kind of connect through compassion
10:22and kind of just see that.
10:23And even though we don't look the same or have the same situations,
10:28the feeling is the same.
10:29And we all have felt these ways at one point or multiple times in our life.
10:34And we can not feel alone together.
10:36And have you had any feedback from any famous drag queens?
10:39Yes, they have really loved the film.
10:44Some of the queens in the film are real drag queens.
10:46And it was such an honour because I'm such a big fan of RuPaul's Drag Race
10:51and just drag in general because it's such an art form.
10:54And I feel it's like a sport.
10:57How they get in and out of drag is just incredible.
10:59The talent, the costume, like hats off to them.
11:02So I'm really grateful that I was able to explore drag
11:05through my own medium of, you know, acting and doing it on film
11:08and putting my music in there and performing.
11:11It was just like one of the greatest honours.
11:14And what's next for you, Jason?
11:15So a lot of different things in the pipeline that I'm not allowed to talk about,
11:19sadly, but I just released my EP project,
11:23which is a beautiful, like smooth R&B, sexy, sensual project.
11:27And I ended up, they ended up using a couple of the songs in Unicorns,
11:31which was beautiful, and I performed one live.
11:33Lots of different things.
11:34I don't want to put myself in one box.
11:37The world is your oyster, whether it's a book that I make in life.
11:39It's about, like, connecting with people and making people happy when I'm not there
11:43because there's just so much sadness in the world.
11:45I just want to put, turn that frown upside down.
11:47Aw, Jason, thank you so much.
11:50Thank you, it's been really lovely to see you.
11:51It's such a pleasure.
11:52Yeah, thank you.
12:01And that's all from us for now.
12:15Thanks for joining Arts24 from Brittany
12:17for the Dienar Festival of British and Irish Film.
12:20See you next time.