2010, 6 minutes
A fully dressed man is pushed into a swimming pool by his mother. He brushes himself off and starts dancing underwater, always aware that she’s watching. After a while she joins him, and they play out the story of their relationship through the underwater dance.
This film was funded by An Chomhairle Ealaíon/The Arts Council and Radió Teilifis Éireann under the joint RTÉ Dance on the Box Scheme.
Wildfire Films also produced a short documentary to accompany Deep End Dance. This film gives us the inside track on the challenges and creative solutions in making a dance film underwater. Watch the short documentary here.
Best Short Drama, Celtic Media Festival, 2011
Best Short Film, Irish Film Festival Boston 2011
Best Dance Film, Fastnet Short Film Festival 2011
Nominated, IFTA 2011
Selected Other Screenings
Dublin Dance Festival, May 2010
Galway Film Fleadh, July 2010
Kinsale Arts Week, July 2010
Dance Camera Istanbul, October 2010
Umbria Film Festival, July 2011
ROMP! Festival at Independent Dance in Victoria, October 2010
Dingle Film Festival, March 2011
Go Short Film Festival, Nijmegen March 2011
Any Dance, Any Screen, Victoria Australia, May 2011
In The Palace Short Film Festival, Bulgaria, June 2011
International Short Film Festival – Clermont-Ferrand, France, Feb 2011
The incongruous becomes surprisingly normal as a suited but goggled dance-maker/swimmer/dancer David Bolger dives into the pool. The dappled turquoise and pale green surface riven only by the gravitational pull of his dance, he turns and nonchalantly rests his elbow on his chin as he floats. When he is joined by his mother, Madge Bolger, their ensuing duet of somersaults and pirouettes, plunging and soaring by turn, create a joyful mood. It’s a reflection on beauty too, the difference of their bodies leveled by this aquamarine universe. Michael Fleming’s playful score for clarinet and piano at times invokes a merry-go-round, perfect for these magical, life-affirming six minutes.
The beauty, emotion and evocation of the piece lies in its sheer simplicity, illustrating the special bond between mother and son.