Inspired by the females in her family, Portia A. Buckley explores women through film.
“My great aunt Columba worked with Alexander Fleming on the invention of Penicillin,” Portia A. Buckley shares via email. “Both my grandmother and great-grandmother studied at Trinity Dublin, which was rare for women in those days.”
Although she is based in London, Buckley’s heritage is distinctly Irish; her paternal grandparents are from Eire and her parents currently reside on the Emerald Isle as well. Growing up, Buckley herself spent many a summer visiting the rural regions of the country – the Waterford area in particular.
It’s no surprise, then, that her latest short film, Clodagh, was set and shot in Ireland.
“The wealth of talent when it comes to actors is amazing. I love the Irish turns of phrase. Many times, I have heard a turn of phrase and know I will put it into a script. It is always beautiful, philosophical and inspiring, but can come from anyone. Everyone is a poet in their own way here. Visually, it is hugely inspiring; you can’t miss when you shoot in Ireland – is is a wonderful place to film.”
Over a mere 16 minutes, Clodagh tells the tale of Mrs. Kelly (Bríd Ní Neachtain): a priest’s housekeeper and Irish dance instructor living in a small Irish village. When Mrs. Kelly meets an eponymous character (Katelyn Rose Downey), she is taken aback by the teenager’s talent for dance.
“It’s about a lot of things, but it was only in hindsight we realized we had written a film about a child coming into someone’s life and turning it upside down,” says Buckley, who co-wrote the film with Michael Lindley, her partner in creativity as well as life.
“The combination of the two of us and our shared taste is what makes our work unique. It’s no better or worse than anyone else’s, it’s just different. Michael’s brain works very differently from mine. His is more literary, mine is more aesthetic, but when we filter his through mine, I believe we get the best of both.”
The couple made Clodagh together not long after welcoming their son into the world, which is emotionally reflected in the story.
“It is a film about the joy of allowing a wonderful and unpredictable and unruly child into your well-ordered life…”
Having a child has indeed impacted her life as a screenwriter.
Buckley notes that, with a baby in the picture, it became more difficult to even go to the cinema and simply watch a film. “Not only was there no spare time but the cost of going to the cinema had doubled, tripled even. Getting a sitter or parent to watch him, paying the tube or the parking.” This meant moviegoing was a luxury and, more to the point, it made Buckley realized just how important it is to make a film worth seeing.
“Although one should always strive to make important work that has a strong message, you should always be entertaining! It seems obvious but, after a long stretch at film school, one can forget this.”
If the public and critical response is any indication, Clodagh has succeeded in both entertainment and emotional impact.
“The goal of the film was to get back to work after having a child, to shoot something low key with small stakes so that I could really explore the characters and continue to develop my own style. Of course, that lack of expectation has led to things I never thought possible.”
Clodagh has reached audiences in London, Los Angeles and even Japan. It has earned a slew of awards from various 2024 festivals, including the Cork Film Festival and the Cleveland Film Festival. The film was also longlisted for the British Independent Film Awards and was shortlisted for the Academy Awards. The Tribeca Film Festival, Buckley says, was a career highlight. Seeing her work onscreen in The Big Apple, where she’d studied film, proved to be a full circle moment.
“Seeing it play in front of an audience after a grueling shoot and edit is fun, too. You’re sick of the sight of it after all that work in the edit, but then you sit with an audience who are seeing it for the first time and they laugh and gasp and applaud and you go, ‘oh yes, this was meant to be enjoyable and funny and beautiful.’”
This year, Buckley hopes to develop Clodagh into a feature-length movie.
“As soon as I step back on set, I know that I am where I need to be.”
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