Official Trailer for Award-Winning Irish Music Doc ‘The Job of Songs’
by Alex Billington
August 14, 2023
Source: YouTube
“It’s a very lonely place… if we didn’t have the music, I don’t know how we’d cope.” Central City Media has revealed an official trailer for a music documentary film titled The Job of Songs, made by filmmaker Lila Schmitz. The film won the Best International Documentary at last year’s Galway Film Festival. In Doolin (see Google Maps), an isolated village teetering on the western edge of Ireland, a community of musicians seek joy and connection through music as they face a modernizing world. An intimate doc conversing with may Irish people who want to keep the music playing. “Music is a way for us to unleash our feelings so that we may express the unspoken,” the director explains. Music has the power to bring people together. In this community of musicians, artists explore what it means to exist in the old music, the long-standing tradition, and find community through the strumming of a guitar, beating of a bodhran, or sharing of a song. Featured musicians include Christy Barry, Luka Bloom, Ted McCormac, Christy McNamara, Kieran O’Connell, Eoin O’Neill, Anne Rynne, Davoc Rynne, Adam Shapiro, Katie Theasby, and The Fiddle Case. Take a look below.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Lila Schmitz’s doc The Job of Songs, direct from YouTube:
“The Job of Songs was born of a feeling. When I travelled to Ireland for the first timne, chasing my ancestral roots, I stepped into a session in Doolin, County Clare and the feeling overwhelmed me. I could not describe it in words, yet there was something so important and gripping in those moments spent in the pub. The community. The history. The music. It did not leave me. I wanted to capture this feeling the best way I know how – and so this film came into being.
“We spent time in County Clare getting to know the musicians and music lovers of the area, hearing stories and forging relationships. We were so fortunate to earn people’s trust and time and spent four weeks exchanging stories and tunes with the vibrant community.”
– Director Lila Schmitz
The Job of Songs is intimate documentary film about the musicians of County Clare. Tourists flock to the west coast of Ireland to take in the breathtaking Cliffs of Moher, but the real treasure lies in the soulful, acoustic sounds wafting out of pubs and living rooms of the unspoiled coastal village of Doolin. Travelers from around the world gather in the local pubs to hear the traditional Irish music, which threads through the generations creating community, connection, and joy. But things are changing: rapid modernization at the hands of tourism, confronting depression and mental health issues, and grappling with a history of colonization and oppression, the people of Doolin turn to music to find solace. The Job of Songs is directed by filmmaker Lila Schmitz, making her feature directorial debut after a few other short films previously. Produced by Lila Schmitz, Fengyi Xu, and Anika Kan Grevstad. This initially premiered at the 2022 Galway Film Fleadh last year. Central City Media will debut The Job of Songs doc direct-to-VOD in the UK starting on September 25th, 2023. No US release is set yet. For more info, visit the film’s official site. Interested?