He won Daniel Day-Lewis his first Oscar for his first film, "My Left Foot," which he directed. Especially in the '90s, he brought the Irish issue to the agenda of the world with "The Field", "In the Name of the Father" and "The Boxer".
He was nominated for an Oscar as a director and screenwriter. He won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for "For My Father". In 2003, he chaired the international competition of the Istanbul Film Festival.
Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish playwright and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed two critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, My Left Foot and In the Name of the Father, and later directed the films The Boxer and In America. Sheridan received six Academy Award nominations.
Jim Sheridan answered our reporter's questions on November 13, 2022:
Question: Especially in the '90s, moviegoers learned about the Irish problem through your films. If the problem has been resolved today, do you think you have an influence on this process?
Answer: This is the summary of my direction in cinema. I think I'm trying to keep Irish cinema alive. I think my Irish-themed films resonated more than my non-Irish films. Because such films are an unconscious reflection of where you come from, making a film about your hometown is like an X-ray of the society you grew up in. I think some of my films have had a positive social impact, like "My Left Foot" and "The Field." I want to make more movies, but now it's harder. The real danger is that everything must originate from the USA. It is important to keep local cinema alive.
Question: We watched the emotional resistance journeys of powerful characters in your films. Today, the power of the characters comes mostly from the effects of the support of technology. How do you interpret superhero movies and the weight of technology in cinema?
Answer: It is a digital disaster. Digital platforms are both creative and destructive, but rather destructive than creative. They are not a movie company, they are a kind of stock market. They helped destroy a good business to create a business whose soundness is questionable. They helped develop and destroy local cultures. Cinema has the power to overcome obstacles. He has the power to respond to power. This is a huge potential and always will be.
Superhero movies are cartoons. They are not cinema in terms of character or narrative depth. It's all superficial, like digital itself.
Question: You are currently making a documentary about Peter O'Toole. Can you tell us about this product and your future projects?
Answer: I'm making a documentary about fake news, true crime, and the power of internet broadcasters. I'm also making a movie about a little boy and his relationship with the church and a girl. It's about growing up in Dublin in the '60s.
Question: What advice would you give to young filmmakers?
Answer: My advice to young directors is: Tell yourself and your audience only the truth. The hardest part of the job is to do it. Just find a way to do it.
Question: Which filmmakers around the world do you follow?
Answer: Which directors do I follow? Of course Scorsese and Coppola. I have an affinity for Italian cinema because of the role of family and religion in his films. I love the oldies Gillo Pontecorvo and De Sica and of course Fellini. I love the French New Wave. I love modern Korean cinema. I really like Turkish cinema, especially Nuri Bilge Ceylan's films, and like him, I love Robert Bresson's cinema. I know Fatih Akın, a German filmmaker of Turkish origin, and I admire him.
Question: You worked with Daniel Day-Lewis on three films. won his first Oscar for your movie. What was it like working with him?
Answer: Working with Daniel Day-Lewis is a pleasure. I haven't experienced any downsides. It's a simplistic approach to think of him as a method player. A spiritual person with a shaman-like character. He is like a magician.