Nick Kelly’s acclaimed feature The Song Cycle rolls into Irish cinemas from May 1st
After a successful festival run, The Song Cycle, Nick Kelly’s uplifting feature documentary is to be theatrically released in selected Irish cinemas from May 1st, beginning with a first-run engagement at the IFI Cinemas Dublin, which will be followed by screenings nationwide.
Watch trailer: https://youtu.be/mpyLcFCheU0
Winner of the Best Independent Film at the 56th Galway Film Fleadh and the Audience Choice Award at the IFI Documentary Festival, The Song Cycle tells the story of Kelly’s novel attempt to travel by bicycle from Ireland to perform at the 2022 Glastonbury Festival, accompanied by his great friend and fellow musician Seán Millar who tracks his progress on public transport and performs onstage with him in venues along the route each night.
“This started out as a project around environmental sustainability,” explains Kelly, “but as I watched the footage back, I started to realise that this could also be a film about sustainability in a broader sense – how do we manage to keep going and stay relevant as artists and humans as we age (especially if we’ve somehow tragically not managed to become Bruce Springsteen).”
A road movie, a musical, and an engaging, funny and moving meditation on art, mortality and friendship, The Song Cycle is Kelly’s first documentary project. His previous drama feature The Drummer and The Keeper won 18 awards on the international festival circuit, and his live action short Shoe was Oscar®-shortlisted at the 2011 Academy Awards®. Nick first came to public attention as frontman with famed 90s band The Fat Lady Sings, and has subsequently been acclaimed for his work as an independent solo artist.
Mirroring the ethos and themes of the movie, Nick is literally bringing The Song Cycle on the road around Ireland. Following an initial run in Dublin’s IFI Cinemas, Nick will travel with his bicycle and guitar to introduce a series of one-off and limited engagement screenings across Ireland throughout May and June, supported by Screen Ireland / Fís Éireann’s Direct Distribution Fund and >accessCinema – a fittingly feel-good launch for Ireland’s summer festival season.
Nationwide screening information will be confirmed soon.
