Maeve O’Boyle is an Emmy-award winning editor and producer. She edited HBO’s “The Education of Mohammad Hussein,” which was shortlisted for an Academy Award. She co-produced and edited the Emmy-award-winning and IRE Award-winning “Firestone and the Warlord.” O’Boyle also edited and co-produced PBS’s “Growing Up Trans,” which went on to win a DuPont Columbia award, and co-wrote and edited “Do I Sound Gay?,” which premiered at TIFF and was awarded the runner up for People’s Choice Award.
Lucy Kennedy is a journalist and documentary filmmaker. She directed four episodes of the Netflix investigative documentary series “Rotten,” including “Lawyers, Guns & Honey” and “The Avocado Wars.” Kennedy was the commissioning producer for three years of the Emmy-award-winning investigative series “Fault Lines on Al Jazeera.” Over that period, she directed and commissioned for the series; her directing credits include “Death on the Bakken Shale,” “One Day in Charkh,” and “American Sheriff.”
Aideen Kane is the VP of Production at Fork Films. She is currently a producer on “Women in Blue” and “Inequality,” feature documentaries slated for release in early 2021. Previous credits include Emmy-winning and nominated feature-length and television documentaries, including: Abigail Disney and Kathleen Hughes’ “The Armor of Light,” Gina Reticker’s “The Trials of Spring,” and Michael Moore’s “The Awful Truth.” In Ireland, Kane produced several award-winning documentaries and documentary series for public television, and is a producer on the international theatrical hit “Alone it Stands.”
“The 8th” was scheduled to screen at the 2020 Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival. A digital version of the fest has been organized due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The 8th” will screen in Hot Docs Festival Online, which will launch May 28 and is geo-blocked to Ontario, Canada. More information about the program and how to tune in can be found here.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
MOB&LK&AK: “The 8th” tells the story of a group of women who, after a 35 year long struggle, changed Ireland’s abortion laws through a historic referendum campaign in 2018.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
MOB&LK&AK: We grew up in Ireland under the shadow of the 8th Amendment. We witnessed its impact on women’s lives, most notably “the X case” — a 14-year-old rape victim who was refused permission to leave the country for an abortion — and the death of Savita Halappanavar [who died after she was denied her request for an abortion following an incomplete miscarriage].
When the government called a referendum to repeal the 8th amendment, we knew this was one of the most important stories of our generation. Our goal was to document this defining moment in the context of Ireland’s historic treatment of women.
W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?
MOB&LK& AK: This is one of the most divisive issues in the world, but the Irish campaigners — on both sides of the debate — chose an alternative approach. Civility and civic engagement are critical to democracy, and “The 8th” demonstrates that even when issues are deeply felt and passions near the surface, people can discuss, differ, and choose a positive way forward.
We hope that by showing how a small country like Ireland was able to convince a conservative electorate to have compassion for women, the story can serve as a roadmap for progressive reforms in other countries. This is a critical time for women’s reproductive rights in the United States. Even in the midst of a pandemic, policymakers are opportunistically trying to further restrict access to women’s reproductive rights and health care. We hope this film will be an inspiration to those continuing the fight for reproductive rights.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
MOB&LK&AK: We are three female directors with strong points of view, and we were also not always in the same location. The story of the campaign unfolded very quickly, and we had to trust each other to run with different story elements and filming decisions.
Even though the film was going to come out long after the results of the campaign, our protagonist’s political instincts sometimes made them guarded when we filmed with them during and in the lead up to the vote. It took a lot of time to gain their trust, and get the behind the scenes access we needed to make a compelling film.
With a litany of injustices against Irish women to consider, condensing the history was really challenging — what did our audience really need to know to understand the significance of this vote?
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.
MOB, LK, AK: “The 8th” was made with a combination of grant funds, equity investment, and Irish tax incentives. We were very fortunate in the amazing women who believed in this film; Abby Disney, Gini Reticker, and Kat Vecchio at Fork Films came on at the very beginning, followed soon afterwards by Lesley McKimm at Screen Ireland, Elisa Slattery and Kavita Ramdas at Open Society Foundations, Sabrina Merage, Jess Kwan, and Amy Nauiokas at Archer Gray, and Brook Kelly-Green and Chi-hui Yang at the Ford Foundation.
Fundraising is very difficult, as there are simply so many important stories looking for funding and needing to be told. It was very challenging for us in the early days, but once the vote happened, things changed. We were very fortunate in the partners that we approached at that stage, and how quickly they all joined us to make this film.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
MOB: Telling stories that take you on a journey.
LK: I came to it somewhat accidentally. I graduated from a journalism masters in New York just as I turned 30, and the work I got was in television and documentary filmmaking. It was through working that I fell in love with the medium and the collaborative nature of filmmaking.
AK: Seeing the work of filmmakers such as Paul Watson — particularly his early films “The Fishing Party” and “The Family.” Also, Michael Apted’s “Up” series, as well as the films of DA Pennebaker and Chris Hedegus.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
MOB&LK&AK: Best Advice: Look at your film a year later, and you will be able to see the merits and the flaws. Constantly refer to the original synopsis and treatments as a guide. Don’t underestimate time in editing.
Worst advice: Play it safe, and don’t rock the boat.
W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?
MOB&LK&AK: Persist and make sure your voice is heard. Tell stories you know, that are important to you, and that you have a connection with.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
MOB: All of Jane Campion’s films. She has a unique female point of view; she almost embodies her female characters and allows you to see the world through their eyes.
LK: Ava DuVernay’s “13th.” It’s stylistically and intellectually brilliant.
AK: “Stories We Tell” by Sarah Polley. It’s just so clever and brilliant — the secrecy at the heart of her family was amplified by the way she chose to tell it.
W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?
MOB: I am working on a film about the folk singer Joan Baez, and I am working remotely with two New York filmmakers, so in that respect life hasn’t changed that much. It has been distracting and difficult at times to focus with COVID-19 looming in the background, but overall, I try to shut it out and focus!
LK: I’m trying, but it’s creatively and emotionally complicated, to say the least. Some days are better than others!
AK: I am lucky. I am still employed, and my teenage children are being kept busy online by their New York public schools. I was in production on two films with my colleagues at Fork Films when everything hit. Very quickly, it became apparent that the pandemic was amplifying the themes of one of the films, and so we have found ways of staying in production.
