Foster Archives – Emma Cownie

I was absolutely delighted to spot Claire Keegan’s “Foster” (and my painting on the cover) at the BBC’s screen of this year’s British Academy Film Awards, known as the BAFTAs. The Irish language film “The Quiet Girl” was nominated for Best Screenplay (Adapted) catagory. The film’s director Colm Bairead wrote the screenplay, adapted Claire Keegan’s beautiful novella. The moving film was also nominated for the Best Film Not in the English Language.Sadly, “The Quiet Girl” lost out to “All Quiet on the Western Front” this time.

Screen Shot of the Quiet Girl (“Foster”) at the BAFTAs

The Quiet Girl has become the first Irish-language feature film to be nominated for an Oscar. So fingers crossed!

https://www.colmbairead.com/

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt15109082/awards/?ref_=tt_awd

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2022-11-01/the-biggest-and-most-ambitious-little-story-youll-read-this-year

https://www.faber.co.uk/author/claire-keegan/

No sooner than I arrived in Donegal and made a start on two large paintings than Seamas and I came down with Covid 19. Apparently the current wave has been mopping up many of the people who had thus far avoided the horrible virus. I never gave up wearing my mask in shops but I still caught it. Darn! So I have spent most of the last two weeks sleeping and lying in bed trying to do very little, in the hope that my immune system will bounce back and my energy levels will return to normal.

Book Cover - Foster by Claire Keegan — Book Cover – Foster by Claire Keegan

I am also feeling faintly stupid but very delighted because I only just realised that Claire Keegan’s novella “Foster”, is the basis for the film “The Quiet Girl”. My oil painting “The Traditional House, Gola” has been used for the cover of the reprint of “Foster”. Actually, never mind the covid, I nearly fell over when I made the connection.

Oil painting of Gola Donegal by Emma Cownie — My painting – The Traditional House, (Gola)

I must have seen these adverts on TG4 (the Irish language chanel) because I thought of this film by it’s Irish language title “An Cailín Ciúin” – as just about all the dialogue is in Irish. I didn’t realise that it was the same story as “Foster”.

It’s story about a nine-year-old girl, Cáit, who is sent to spend the summer with her aunt Eibhlín (Carrie Crowley) and her husband Seán, who live in the Rinn Gaeltacht, County Waterford. The film is directed and written by Colm Bairéad , based on Claire Keegan’s story “Foster”. It has won a whole pile of International awards, rave reviews and has been breaking box office records in Ireland and UK. I am really excited and greatly honoured to be connected, even in a tenuous way, to such an amazing project!

I am now going back to bed, in the hope that I haven’t over done it.