Alumna Celebrates Oscar
Oorlagh George '02 celebrated an Academy Award last night in Los Angeles, winning as the producer for the live action short The Shore, which was written and directed by her father, Terry George.
Terry George of Belfast dedicated the film to the people of Northern Ireland. The Shore is about a man who immigrated to the United States twenty-five years earlier to escape sectarian violence and now brings his daughter back to meet his childhood friends while harboring a dark secret.
"Our little film was inspired by the people of Northern Ireland, Protestant and Catholic, who after thirty years of war, sat down, negotiated a peace and proved to the world that the Irish are great talkers," Terry George told the BBC. "I want to dedicate this to them. This is about reconciliation in Northern Ireland. It is really close to my heart."
And he complimented his daughter as "brilliant." Oorlagh, who lives in London, produced the film and raised money for the production. She was an international studies major at Kenyon and was described as "creatively brilliant" by faculty adviser Wendy F. Singer, Roy T. Wortman Distinguished Professor of History.
Jonathan E, Tazewell, Thomas S. Turgeon Professor of Drama, recalled Oorlagh as an "interesting and inspiring student" who arrived at Kenyon with an enthusiasm for making films. "For Kenyon, the interesting thing I find is how present this small college is in such a major and popular industry," Tazewell said. "Oorlagh is another part of that, and I think it has more to do with our ability to teach storytelling. She understood that. She is very creative."
Other Kenyon alumni who have won Academy Awards include Paul Newman '49 (best actor in 1986 for The Color of Money) and Adam Davidson '86, (best short subject in 1991 for The Lunch Date). Kenyon added a popular film major this academic year.
Northern Ireland Culture Minister Caral Ni Chuilin called the Academy Award "a fantastic achievement."
Richard Williams, chief executive of Northern Ireland Screen, told the BBC, "Terry and Oorlagh George have done us proud. With their help, the profile of both the film industry in Northern Ireland and indeed the beauty of our place have received a major boost." Williams added, "The Shore is a beautiful, poignant and funny film."
The film includes Ulster actors Ciaran Hinds and Maggie Cronin and was shot at the George family cottage on Coney Island in Northern Ireland, according to the News Letter of Belfast. Terry George was previously nominated for Academy Awards for the screenplays for In the Name of the Father and Hotel Rwanda.