Writer-director Tom Sullivan, who is behind the Oscar-tipped Irish language famine film, Arracht, has praised award-winning Korean movie, Parasite, for kicking down the door for foreign films in Hollywood.
Parasite wowed audiences and made history when it scooped four Academy Awards, becoming the first non-English film to win Best Picture in the process.
Sullivan, whose next work has been put forward as Ireland's candidate for Best International Film at the 2021 Oscars, believes its success has boosted interest in foreign language films.
"Parasite kicked a lot of doors down and got a lot of people who would not have normally considered watching foreign language films to watch them," he told news agency PA.
"I think, Jesus, wouldn’t it be great if people were more open to watching films from all over the world, as opposed to that small pool of American films that most of us, myself included, watch?
"I think you know we can all we can all do it open broadening our horizons a little bit."
Arracht, which translates as Monster, was filmed entirely in Irish in Connemara on the barren west coast.
Set in 1845, on the eve of the great famine, it follows fisherman Colman Sharkey (Donall O Healai), who takes a stranger into his home at the behest of a local priest, just as the potato blight arrives that will lead to the death and displacement of millions.
Sullivan admits he was fully aware of the pressure that comes with taking on such a huge project, saying "there's trepidation or fear of trying to tackle something so sacred".
Recalling a conversation he had with an influential director, he said: "I mentioned it to a well known director, who I won’t mention now.
"He’s pretty famous and he’s an Irish director. I was talking to him one day, I just bumped into him.
"And I told him what I was doing, that it was a film centred on the famine.
"And his response was 'Oh, risky, don’t f*** it up’."
Sullivan continued: "I don’t know, I think there’s trepidation or fear of trying to tackle something so sacred.
"There’s an awful lot that goes unsaid about the famine and I think it’s the same with any trauma.
"I think as a nation we’re traumatised.
"I think we’re all learning, we’re all in therapy now learning to deal with the famine and the films that are going to come out.
"I think you’re gonna see more ways of us dealing with this and talking about it, I think it’s time."
