WHY ARE IRISH FILMS SO HYPED?

With the release and success of the feature documentary His & Hers one aspect of Irish cinema gets repeated yet again. Even Michael Moore has been interviewed for his opinion on this film where he says it's a 'breath of fresh air'* This is the hype with every moderately successful film made here. Not only is this unfair on the filmmakers but it often makes us a laughing stock on the international circuit. People are smart enough these days to decide for themselves how good Irish cinema is. There is too much hype about successful Irish films in the media. Then the director has to follow up with another success and fails. There are dozens of Irish directors from the '90s who will never make another feature. They were overhyped and then under performed. Some of their films will never get a DVD release! This acclaim for every new director who makes one feature and becomes a household name is a bad idea. Directors need to prove themselves! They should be allowed to make a number of features and be allowed find their own style before they get articles written about them in the Evening Herald. The only contemporary Irish director who's smart enough to do this is Ivan Kavanagh. He keeps a low profile, makes his own personal features, doesn't shove his work down your throat, and unlike most of this year's debut directors will still be making films a decade from now.
*Evening Herald 01-7-2010