THE SWELL SEASON
2011,
Seventh Art Releasing,
91 min,
Ireland, Czech Republic, USA,
Dir: Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins, Carlo Mirabella-Davis
Most people know Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, the charmingly un-Hollywood actors and singer-songwriters who starred in the film ONCE, for their memorable - and temporarily interrupted - 2008 Oscar win for Best Original Song (“The Swell Season”). Yet behind the award was a more complex story of Hansard and Irglová’s onscreen romance becoming reality, and the grueling two-year world music tour that threatened to permanently fracture their relationship. Shooting in crisp black-and-white, documentarians Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins and Carlo Mirabella-Davis explore the upsides and downsides of artistic collaboration, success and love as they follow the musical couple on their difficult yet constantly illuminating journey. “THE SWELL SEASON makes a bruised-but-sweet flipside to ONCE’s dreamy lovesong.” - The Hollywood Reporter