WHAT'S WITH ALL THESE IRISH WOMEN DIRECTORS?

Time Shoot the cabbage did a post on all these women directors! Ireland has a larger proportion of female directors than most countries. Is this a good thing? Well the recent IFTA Best Film winner was directed by a woman. However, it was not an Irish-themed film. One of the first feature films made at Ardmore Studios was directed by a woman called Muriel Box. However most recent Irish films directed by women are terrible! There was the football film Best, the horror film Daisy chain, the mess that was Disco pigs, the embarrassing Eamon, the disastrous Chaos,the rubbish Goldfish memory, the flat emigration film Gold in the streets, and the voiceless Situations vacant. The only impressive recent film directed here by a woman was Foxes but that was directed by a foreigner so got ignored. The Irish Film industry seems to be pushng women directors thinking one will break through internationally? In fact if there was a new feature film scheme for three new movies one would certainly go to a woman. The idea that there's a 'quota' in place is of course nonsense but there is the impression that the Irish Film industry is trying to support 'marginal voices' particularly female ones. The only problem is that there are no truly great international female directors outside of the French language. This idea that the Irish Film industry should support women directors because they are a 'minority' is just silly. In fact men are actually the minority in Ireland! Funding and pushing Irish films just because the director is female is a waste of time. No matter how many get made most of these titles will be terrible, particularly the genre ones. Some people will no doubt find this post offensive but tough.