“A gutsy movie in the spirit
of Robert Flaherty“
FIFIG 2015
Filmed over eight years, A Turning Tide in the Life of Man follows John O’Brien, a small fisherman from the island of Inis Bó Finne who embarked on a European campaign to try and regain his ancestral right to fish the seas around Donegal. The film retraces the origins of the global problems that small fishermen are facing today, the complexity of political decisions involved, and the consequences for the lives of small coastal communities. We follow John’s very personal journey with his family and friends, we see their efforts to survive through their long quest; meeting politicians, gathering support from island communities across Europe, working with international NGOs — and through the process discovering they are only a little piece of a larger puzzle.
A film which gives faith in a possible balance between Man and Nature
Minister McHugh
Every member of our Government should see this film.
Steve Martin
Irish Post Film Critic
A John Ford ‘hero’, a film we want to share, a film about us
Thomas Pringle
Irish Deputy
It shouldn’t happen on our door step
Independent
Donegal
Festivals Selections
Festival European Film Festival des Arcs
France
Festival Etonnants Voyageurs
France
Competition, Millenium Film Festival
Brussels
The IFI Documentary Films Festival
Ireland
Compétition, Galway Film Festival
Ireland
Guth Gafa Film Festival
Ireland
HIFF 2016
The Hebrides International Film Festival, Scotland
Rencontres AD Hoc
France
Escales Documentaires, Ecran vert
France
Compétition, Cine Politico
Argentina
Festival Résistances
France
Festival Interceltique de Lorient
France
TIFF
Norway
NordKap Festival
Norway
Rencontres hivernales de Grignan
France, 2017
Rencontres cinématographiques de Montmélian
France, 2017
Awards
Winner Best Documentary,
FIFIG 2015,
France
Winner Best Documentary, Festival Pêcheurs du Monde, France
Winner Best Documentary,
Bled Film Festival,
Slovenia
Winner Best European Documentary Award,
CIRCOM 2016
Special Jury’s mention, Documentary Films Festival Traces de vies,
France
Special Jury’s mention, Derry Foyle Film Festival,
Northen Ireland
Jury Award, the Rural Film Festival Festi’vache,
France
Nominated for the best documentary 2016,
Oireachtas na Gaeilge Media Awards,
Republic of Ireland, 2016
Nominated for the best single documentary 2017,
Celtic Media Festival
Nominated for the best Documentary 2016,
Fondation Radharc Awards,
Republic ofIreland
Directors notes
The documentary explores the impact of EU-level environmental management
policies on a small, Irish-speaking fishing community on the island of Inis Bó Finne off
the northwest coast of Donegal. We follow an eight-year journey of one fisherman,
John O’Brien, islanders, experts as they campaign on behalf of the European islands
for access to the traditional catch and their unique way of life. The film is also
concerned with the challenges facing minority language groups and the rupture of
traditional livelihoods in coastal Ireland and further afield in the EU.
Credits
Directed by
Loïc Jourdain
Produced by
Loïc Jourdain
Carole Mangold
Tina Moran
Written By
Loïc Jourdain
Mirjam Strugalla
Edited by
Mirjam Strugalla
Cinematography by
Loïc Jourdain
Tristan Clamorgan
Music composed by
Guillaume Beauron
Narrated by
Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhríde