Close to Longford: Documentary creates conversation at 70th Cork Film Festival

At the 70th Cork Film Festival, ‘Theocracy’ The Emigrant’s Artist based on the life of Bernard Canavan, Artist and Historian, who was formerly from Edgeworthstown, premiered to the world. Taking place on Monday, November 10, this documentary focused on the journey of Bernard Canavan’s (80) search for his identity.

Directed by Sé Merry Doyle, and produced by his wife, Rosalind Scanlon, Sé came to chat to the Longford Leader about the creation of his 90-minute documentary, how it was filmed in six months over two years, and what the audience reacted with when they saw it at the festival. Sé is a renowned Irish documentary maker, who set up Loopline Film, his production company in 1992 with one abiding guideline: ‘that the films must endure the test of time.’ Loopline soon became a force in creative documentary in Ireland and throughout the globe and it is a testament to Sé’s vision that his films still get special archival screenings and are used as educational tools in several universities.

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“I came across Bernard, and knew that he got a presidential award, but he was by no means rich. They were planning an exhibition. I’d no money but started to film, build material. I couldn’t get funding in Ireland. I showed previews of the material and auctioned paintings. I almost completed all the filming in London. The main thing I wanted was to bring him to Edgeworthstown. The money I raised made it happen. That was an emotional time, particularly for the orphanage in Blackrock.”

Bernard’s orphanage was called the House of Shame, and both Sé and Rosalind commented how children there were treated abominably. When Bernard was adopted by the Canavans, he was in hospital due to being very ill.

“The whole darkness of the orphanage is highlighted in this film, but more different than any film because that story was told by interviews. This is done through the paintings that Bernard has created.”

Bernard Canavan’s works show emigrants leaving loved ones, digging the roads and nurses working in the NHS. He documented these people who sent money back to their families.

“He will be remembered for all time,” added Sé. ‘Michael D Higgins gave him the presidential award. Beyond the paintings, he had a magical eye, He’s highly intelligent. When he was in the Dublin orphanage, Mrs. Canavan, who was born to an Irish family, came to Edgeworthstown and she married but said they were too old. She took him home to Edgeworthstown and educated him; taught him to read and write. One gift he had at 12 was that he was a great painter.

“The narrative was looking for his mother, who he did find. She had gone to England and was beautiful and became a model for L'Oreal, the face of posters.

Then she went to America, married a rich man with a ballroom. He only found out who she was, she had died in a car crash. There is a potent image beside her grave. The narrative outside the painting was finding who he was.”

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Sé mentioned the Maria Edgeworth Centre, where the curator put his paintings in a museum, and Maria Edgeworth was known for looking after children.

Matt Farrell, a long-time volunteer at the centre, said the following:

“The film interduces the audience to the stirring paintings of Bernard. It is also an intimate portrait of a man whose distressing backstory has yielded a remarkable catalogue of work.

His collection on emigration forms a permanent exhibition at the Maria Edgeworth Centre. Despite emigrating in 1959 Bernard has maintained contact with a number of people in the town and often visits the town.”

The invested Cork Festival audience was said to be gobsmacked, very emotional and very angry at the story, but taken by it. This led to a long Q & A session which then extended into the lobby, with Canavan present.

"Theocracy" is a new collection through which Bernard dares to confronts what the Catholic Church did to him and thousands of other unfortunates who found themselves in orphanages and Mother and Baby homes in 20th century Ireland.