Cork film makes Oscars' list

An independent Irish film made in Cork saw four songs from its soundtrack added to the Oscars' contender list.

‘The Holy Fail’ was written, directed by, and starred Ballintemple native Owen Dara. The film is a comedy about a recently married couple and two friends who steal a safe, and was shot entirely on Leeside. Owen also wrote the soundtrack for the film, performing it with Virginia Williams. The soundtrack saw four of his songs on the contender list for the Oscars' ‘Best Original Song’ category.

The four songs are ‘Beyond the Path of Compromise’, ‘Ever Since You've Come My Way’, ‘Walk with Me’, and stand-out tune ‘Magic Made’.

Speaking about the film, Owen said: “I’m just delighted that any aspect of our film is part of the Oscars race. It’s not something I could even have imagined when we set out to make our little indie film.”

Owen was unaware his songs had been added to the contender list until he was contacted by a Los Angeles-based film magazine looking to listen to the songs.

The contender list featured 75 songs, with many written by A-list artists such as Beyoncé, Elton John, and Taylor Swift. With four songs selected, Owen was the most represented songwriter on the list.

However having so many songs listed can spread votes and reduce the odds of a single song receiving enough votes for a nomination.

The contenders list has since been reduced to a shortlist of 15 songs with none of the four songs making the cut.

The current shortlist is dominated by tracks from blockbuster features, with five from Disney movies: ‘The Lion King’, ‘Aladdin’, ‘Frozen 2’, and ‘Toy Story 4’.

However Owen is delighted to see so many songs from his soundtrack contend with such huge musical stars. “None of my songs made that shortlist, but neither did Taylor Swift's, so I don't feel too bad,” joked Owen.

‘The Holy Fail’ is Owen’s second feature film to be shot in Cork. It features a host of local actors, including Stiofán Wyley, Seán McNally, Máirín Prendergast, Kevin McCormack, Judy Donovan, Frank Prendergast, Martin Blower, Alan Riordan and Mon Murphy.

Owen will be returning to Cork for a one-night-only performance of his original songs, including those from ‘The Holy Fail’, on 26 February in An Spailpin Fanach at 7.30pm.

‘The Holy Fail’ is available on streaming platforms now.

For more information and to listen to songs from the soundtrack, visit theholyfailfilm.com.