It’s shaping up to be a big week for Portia A Buckley, as the director finds out whether she can officially call herself a Bafta and Oscar nominee. Her exquisite work Clodagh is on the longlist for short film categories in both, which are currently being voted on by their respective academies; the final BAFTA nominees are announced on Wednesday, with the Oscars following three days later. “It’s been really exciting,” she says.
Clodagh – co-written with her writing partner and husband Michael Lindley – is her fourth film. She directed and he produced the work which premiered at an Australian film festival last January, since then it has travelled to festivals aroudn the world, with acclaim following closely behind it.
Over the course of 16 minutes, Clodaghtells the story of Mrs Kelly, who works for the church in a rural Irish village and who also teaches girls Irish dance. One day she meets Clodagh, one of the most extraordinary young dancers she’s ever seen, and has a difficult decision to make – one that will test her faith and her moral code.
“We didn’t want to make a perfect 10-minute political movie to get into a film festival,” the 33-year-old director says. “This is a joyful story. It has that universal quality of someone coming to a crossroads in their life and having a moral dilemma. Do you follow your head or your heart.”.
