IRELAND'S FORGOTTEN AUTEUR!

The next time someone complains that we've yet to produce an auteur tell them we did have one. His name was Norman Cohen and he worked during the fertile period of British cinema in the '60s and '70s. Fair enough, he may not be up there with Fellini and Rohmer but he certainly could be considered an auteur as his films were alike and his style easily recognisable. Unlike today's Irish rent-a-teamplayer-committee-mentality-jobbing directors Cohen's films stood out because they were risqué, played for laughs, and quite funny. So there goes any chance of his receiving much acclaim in the middle-class, politically-correct vaults of Irish cinema academia. Most of his stuff is now out on DVD (even his London documentary) - just don't try the IFI shop!