Film Studies professor Dr. Brian McIlroy is presenting a paper at “Brian Moore at 100” on June 4. This symposium celebrates the 100th centenary of the Irish-Canadian writer and screenwriter, Brian Moore. His paper, entitled Quebec on Screen: Brian Moore’s film adaptations of The Luck of Ginger Coffey and Black Robe, is based on Moore’s Canadian films.
The chosen films (made in 1964 and 1991) present a significant contrast in many ways. The first is a social realist, but humorous study of new Irish immigrants in early 1960s Montreal. The other is a historical study of the role of Jesuits in seventeenth century New France, as the current lands of Quebec were then called. These two films bookend periods in English-Canadian filmmaking: the first a modest black and white production with sometimes weak sound recording; the second a big budget international co-production with Australia that won many awards. The paper looks at how Moore adapted his own novels for the screen.
A selection of the papers from the symposium will be published in a future issue of The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies.
The symposium is free to attend. Visit the “Brian Moore at 100” event page to register.
