The Shit Show Film Show

Hen’s Teeth in Blackpitts was packed like I had never seen before. Just around the corner from the Teeling Whiskey Distiller sat chairs, couches, pillows, and stools of all kinds were gathered and packed in around a screen set high, close to the ceiling in the corner; with a projection brightly displaying “Welcome to the Shit Show Film Show!”  

What had begun as an indie film festival based around creating a short film with a shoestring budget on a limited time frame, The Shit Show Film Show (SSFS) has begun its third iteration, becoming a uniquely Dublin-esque event.  

In a city with an ever-present lack of things to do without getting plastered, the small yet infinitely passionate film show has gathered a bit of a reputation as a lighthearted, witty, somewhat artsy event.  

As so eloquently posted on the show’s Instagram: “This is very much a DIY film festival. This film festival is open to anyone and everyone. Whether you are a filmmaker, an actor, a producer or a baker…. Think Cannes. But it’s not. And it’s Dublin.” 

When I made a comment about the turnout, the ticket checker told me that it was “actually booked out; I can’t sell any more tickets from here and online sold out too.”  

Having gone to SSFS 2.0, which was a gathering of around 40 people packed cozily into the Pearse Centre Theatre, I was very surprised closer to 100 people had filled a much bigger space in an equally intimate way. 

I had a chance to speak to the Head Organiser, Morgan Savidan, alongside her friends, housemates, and team of creatives; Sasha Carberry Sharma, Leia Murphy, Lynda Smyth and Bella Danieli. 

“Yeah, Jameson sponsored us at the last one they were great…. and we sold out which is crazy!” Savidan said. 

She continued, “First it was friends and then they invited their friends because it was like a hangout session…. and we have a DJ for the end of the night so it’s not just a serious event, it’s a night out. And yeah, I guess people talked amongst themselves.” 

For this SSFS, film makers provided project titles for their respective film and were given award categories. Once the film makers had been selected for the night, the titles were mixed out between the contestants ultimately giving their title to another film maker.  

This left some creatives looking to create a whole new script with only 10 days to go. In the case of Theo Rush, creator of Drip, he explained: “We had a few ideas going in but we kind of had to rejig everything…. it kind of enhanced the nature of the Shit Show.” 

Iarla McKeon’s short film Cowboy Town, with lead actor Aran Gormley, caused the entire room to erupt into intense laughter which won them a few awards that night. 

McKeon said, “You can see the cracks and the flaws or the jokes and the edits and its very raw, your able to give up the production and editing and budget side and just purely make it as fun and entertaining as possible for people to watch and engage with and then actually being able to see people watch your work is something that doesn’t happen very often to anybody.”  

He continued to describe why he valued the ShitShow as a film maker. “I like to submit stuff to the ShitShow because it’s like instant pressure to get something done, basically every time they’ve done it, they’ve made it so everyone has the same disadvantage. So we got all our title switched up so that forces high pressure creativity, which I think is kind of needed nowadays because people spend months planning stuff, never do it, and move on   to a new idea where as if you just give people 10 days to do it they find there a lot more able for it then they might have thought at the start.”  

This sentiment was seconded by previously mentioned first time film maker Theo Rush when he said “It was really fun, it was our first time doing any of this so if I had been given more time I would have used it but because it was the ten days I was like we just have to go for it, it was a little low pressure in that way.” 

When asked about why his reason for entering the ShitShow Film Show with zero experience, he revealed “I went to the Shit Show 2.0  to watch and support a friend. My friend and I were just kind of inspired I suppose by the nature of just doing it for the heck of it.”  

“We were really proud of it in the end, once I seen the title of my movie go on the screen, I was like ‘oh shit this is it’. But having put it out and it being received well and talking to the other film makers it was really exciting.”  

Once the films had played, votes were cast and awards such as “Worst Extra,” “The Best Use Of An Unidentifiable Liquid,” “Best Death,” “Worst Accent,” and “Best Overall Movie Of The Night.” A surprise “Kanye Card” was thrown into the mix from the crowd. This gave that individual the power to solely decide a different prize winner (Google Kanye/Taylor Swift VMAs incident for context if needed).  

Savidan addressed the crowd one last time thanking everyone involved and the night was played out with music. Speaking to her after, she revealed that the location of the next SSFF hasn’t been decided yet. 

However, in the future, she and her team would like to start having TSSFF every 3 months and that the next one would be very soon. From the next show to how to apply, keep up to date with all the information about the Shit Show on their Instagram, TikTok, and Website. 

Sources: https://www.instagram.com/shitshowfilmshow.ie/

Images from ShitShowFilmFestival Instagram taken from: https://www.instagram.com/shitshowfilmshow.ie/

Photo Taken By: Eoin McKenna Walsh

Link To The Shit Show Film Show Website: https://shitshowfilmshow.com/