Ciarán Maginn
“ON YOUR RADAR” IS A WEEKLY GRAD FILM NEWS SEGMENT THAT FEATURES A STUDENT PICKED AT RANDOM.
CIARÁN MAGINN IS CURRENTLY A 3RD YEAR STUDENT AT GRAD FILM. WE ASKED HIM A FEW QUESTIONS AND HERE’S WHAT HE HAD TO SAY:
Where do you consider home and what is it like there?
Dublin, Ireland will always be my home, but New York is a close second. I love Dublin, it’s a strange place that changes rapidly, it went from being an incredibly conservative place to being a lot more open and free in recent years. It changes so much because people are constantly moving away or emigrating there. A lot of my friends and family have moved away in recent years, but we always gather back around the holidays. Everyone there is very funny; a lot of my friends are comedians or storytellers which makes for a great time. The humour can have a flip side though, since it can be used as a way to avoid talking about your feelings which can be damaging. The countryside is incredibly beautiful and I miss getting lost in the mountains, it’s not as easy to do that in New York.
What is currently inspiring you as a filmmaker?
I’m inspired by a lot of things. After the last year I’ve been looking at my classmates and trying to learn as much from them as possible. I’ve decided to take a few months to experiment. I’m about to make a small piece that’s heavily inspired by the work of Chris Cunningham and Tetsuo: Iron Man.
I’m also writing a lot at the moment. I spent my summer trying to extract stories about my grandad from my family, he had this somewhat secret and dangerous life that I think would make a great film. I asked my dad to send me books and articles to read so he’s helping me research.
I’m writing another film which is inspired by my time as teenager. Fireworks are illegal in Ireland and as a kid all I ever wanted to do was blow things up so we’d buy fireworks illegally from the north of Ireland. Ireland is in an uncertain place at the moment thanks to Brexit. The North is a part of the UK and the rest of Ireland is a part of the EU. Tensions are increasing and I thought the childish trade of illegal fireworks would be a fun way of exploring that.
What has been your most rewarding experience at NYU Tisch Grad Film so far?
NYU has been nothing but a positive experience for me. Growing up I rarely had good experiences with educational institutions since I was dyslexic and went undiagnosed until halfway through college. In primary school I was a stressed out little kid, throughout secondary school teachers gave up on me, and in undergrad my lecturers were discouraging. I was trying to figure out my next step and I was sick of my job as a camera asisstant, my wife was working in New York and encouraged me to apply. I was worried that I was going to have a similar educational experience at NYU but I have had nothing but positive experiences here. Having a supportive and incitful group of professors and fellow students has allowed me to really grow and learn.
Ciarán can be found at: