Sunday, March 6 • 1:00 PM
In RYAN MCMULLAN: DEBUT, filmmaker Brendan J. Byrne (producer of GEORGE BEST: ALL BY HIMSELF and producer/director of BOBBY SANDS: 66 DAYS) crafts a beguiling portrait of emerging Northern Irish singer-songwriter Ryan McMullan — who was discovered at a Foy Vance concert right here in DC, where he was studying and flipping burgers — as he prepares to release his debut album. Centered around a four-day recording session on Cruit Island, County Donegal, at the end of 2019, Byrne's documentary follows McMullan and his team — including musician and mentor Vance, manager/drummer Paul "Hammy" Hamilton and producer Eoin O'Callaghan from Elma Orkestra — as they assess all the songs competing for a place on the album, a potential breakthrough moment for McMullan. Laying out the key stepping stones of McMullan's career to date, DEBUT explores his early meetings with his long-term collaborators, his support tour with Ed Sheeran, his growing links to leading Northern Irish band Snow Patrol and their lead singer Gary Lightbody and how the COVID-19 pandemic has left McMullan at a crossroads in his career.
(Note adapted from Galway Film Fleadh.)
Credits: DIR/SCR/PROD Brendan J. Byrne; PROD Andrew Tully, Trevor Birney. UK, 2021, color, 80 min. In English. NOT RATED
