Director Luke McManus and cinematographer Alex Sapienza made a film on the streets of Dublin over the weekend, drawing inspiration from Luke Kelly and Seamus Heaney, and vividly capturing an Easter holiday like no other...
Watch it above, and read their introduction below.
In Ireland, Easter is always a time where death and birth intertwine, a season of blossom and of bloodshed.
In 2020, this collision of life and death was more striking than ever before.
With our city hushed, our shops and pubs shuttered and our people at home, sheltering from an invisible enemy, an uncanny atmosphere settled on Dublin.
The air was fresh, unpolluted and warm as midsummer. The sun bathed our brick and stone in a golden glow.
But there was emptiness. No people, no hum of traffic or clink of glass.Just the crying of the birds, now the winged sovereigns of our streets.
Alex documented this unforgettable mood over the Easter weekend. His images were exquisite, yet a little unnerving. In the words of a well-worn Easter cliché: they had a terrible beauty.
Many of us have gained a little from these strange times - as our lives were stripped of daily bustle and hurry we found a sense of peace and of being in the moment.
But many have also lost friends and family to this terrible virus.
For all this sorrow, the beauty of their ghosts shall remain.
Alex & Luke
