Fergus Grady, Camino Skies director's exclusive interview
Exclusive Interview
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Louise van Rooyen - Beamafilm
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21/05/2022
Camino Skies is an uplifting documentary about everyday people achieving the extraordinary. Co-director Fergus Grady provides an exclusive glimpse behind the scenes spotlighting lifelong friendships generated whilst making the film, a world premiere at Newport Film Fest in the USA and an epic Q&A screening tour with audiences connecting on a deep, personal level.
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Heart-breaking and inspirational, ‘Camino Skies’ is an uplifting story about everyday people doing the extraordinary.
BEAMAFILM: Hey Fergus, thanks for speaking with us today. Our audience is clearly inspired by Camino Skies and so we’d like to begin this interview by asking what inspired you to make this remarkable film?
Fergus Grady: The inspiration came from looking for a story where my co-director Noel Smyth could grab his camera and I could buy some sound gear and we could have a working walking holiday whilst making a film. Seven weeks in Spain was also very appealing!
BEAMAFILM: Camino Skies is a very personal journey. What was it like working with the film cast, and how did you get them interested in the project?
Fergus Grady: The subjects that we followed were amazing and we’ve become lifelong friends. The vulnerability we witnessed on camera from Day One was truly amazing and over the course of 7 weeks, we became very close.
BEAMAFILM: Can you tell us what your favourite scene in the film is and why?
Fergus Grady: My favourite scene in the film is when our father-in-law character, Terry, suggests that his son-in-law, Mark, visit a church where the priest had organised a mass for Mark’s daughters the year before. I still find the scene very emotional which then leads into our Cruz de Ferro scene which is very uplifting and hopefully made even better by Angus & Julia Stone’s ‘Chateau’ which we were able to clear.
BEAMAFILM: Are there any standout behind-the-scenes stories from the making of the film that you can share with us?
Fergus Grady: The scariest behind-the-scenes moment was when my co-director thought that the first half of the shoot (almost a month’s work) was unusable after finally reviewing the footage on a rest day. Luckily, he must have been very tired and we were pretty happy with the final result.
BEAMAFILM: How have other audiences been responding to your film? We'd love you to share any of the audience member conversations you've had at screenings of the film?
Fergus Grady: The great thing about releasing the film before COVID was that we had an epic Q&A tour with directors and subjects across Australia, NZ & the US (world premiere at Newport Film Fest, CA). Across the 20+ screenings, we heard personal stories of audience members who had walked the Camino in memory of a loved one and that was the theme of the tour and our film’s subjects were able to personally connect with their journeys.
BEAMAFILM: Are you currently working on any new projects you can tell us about?
Fergus Grady: Noel and I are hoping to release our next film later this year (2022) and we’ve been busy filming in NZ during the pandemic so looking forward to having a maskless premiere with our subjects in attendance. Keep a lookout on our https://www.facebook.com/caminoskies page for announcements on the premiere and the film's focus.
Thanks, Fergus - sounds great, we'll be looking out for the premiere!
Watch 'Camino Skies' on Beamafilm here!