You have to hand it to Mike Houlihan, one of the city’s most inexhaustible and creative characters, as he is set to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the only Irish American film festival in the world. He started it, creating a decade ago what he called the Irish American Movie Hooley, “hooley” meaning an Irish party usually with music, and “Houli” being, not at all coincidentally, the nickname by which Houlihan has long been known.
The seventh child raised in a large family on the city’s South Side, Houlihan has been an actor for more than five decades, as well as a producer, director and playwright, with credits that include his own hit show, the autobiographical “Goin’ East on Ashland.” He’s been a columnist, beginning as a contributor to the Chicago Tribune Magazine in 1990 and later providing essays broadcast on WBEZ-FM 91.5, and for a couple of years he wrote the engaging, Chicago-centric “Houli in ‘da Hood” column for the Sun-Times. He remains a columnist for the Irish American News.
His movie life includes writing the screenplay for a film named “Ballhawk”; co-writing “Tapioca,” a movie with Ben Vereen and Tim Kazurinsky; writing, producing and directing “Her Majesty, ‘da Queen,” a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at the process and politics involved in selecting Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day Queen and “Our Irish Cousins,” a charming film that follows Houlihan to his roots in Ireland.
It was his frustration in finding a home for that movie that led to the creation of his film festival.
I have reviewed most of the movies screened during the annual festivals and found the majority of them terrific. As I once wrote, and it is true this year as well, “If your image of the Irish is trapped in some sort of playful Shamrock “Danny Boy” realm, prepare yourselves for the dark but altogether satisfying world represented by the latest offerings of this year’s Irish American Movie Hooley.”
It takes place over three days at the Wilmette Theatre, beginning at 8 p.m. Sept. 27 with “Sins of Ireland.” Written and directed by Alex Fegan, this compelling documentary is at once a fascinating history lesson, a disheartening look at contemporary Irish Catholicism and a rather bleak view of the future.
It is a story told through “the prism of the confession box,” explaining its origins and how it long ago spread across the planet. Fifteen Irish priests of various ages are featured in the film, and they are all forthcoming, frank and more than aware of how sexual abuse revelations, those “sins of the church,” have affected their lives.
I must tell you that I am not a practicing Catholic but was haunted by some of the words and images in these 90 minutes. One priest says, “I fear I may live long enough to see confession boxes burned,” as we see many now used as storage closets. Country or city, in churches ancient and new, we see the struggles of priests to remain relevant as they lead increasingly lonely lives. Further distanced by COVID, some were forced to hold masses in parking lots (awkwardly, confessions too, in automobiles side by side).
You will hear that “Confession is where God says, ‘OK’” but learn that fewer and fewer people care to listen. Beautifully photographed and with some surprisingly forthright voices, this film haunts.
The second film, screening Sept. 28 at 8 p.m., is “Kneecap,” written and directed by Rich Peppiatt. It had a short run in local theaters a few weeks ago when my colleague Michael Phillips called it “a rousing Belfast hip hop ode to native tongues everywhere.”
I will only add that “Kneecap” comes at us with the Irish language often delivered in English sub-titles and that it is funny, sexy, frenetic and a delight.
On Sept. 29 at 5 p.m. comes the Chicago premiere of the documentary, “Stories I Didn’t Know.” Filmmaker and star Rita Davern (with Melody Gilbert collaborating) starts seeking to detail some of her family’s history, with deep roots in Ireland before coming to America and settling in Minnesota. Her curiosity — “I grew up with a lot of blanks in my past,” she says — soon starts to uncover some dark sides of what has long been regarded the heroic tale of how her great grandparents came to own Pike Island, a beautiful piece of land at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers.
Davern travels to Ireland, connecting with relatives and soon she and her family have to deal with such heavy issues as racism, a concentration camp for Native Americans, reparations and other matters. Though Davern’s regret and guilt is not shared by all of her relatives, she presses on, aided by the quiet wisdom of Ramona Stately, a Native American artist and teacher.
It was Tolstoy who wrote, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” This hour long film gives us a happy family trying to grasp an unhappy past.
One of the hallmarks and joys of these annual fests has been Houlihan’s desire and ability to bring filmmakers in to meet the audiences. And so it continues, with Fegan here on Friday, Jessica Reynolds from “Kneecap” on Saturday and Davern on Sunday. And Houlihan will begin searching for next year’s festival films.
rkogan@chicagotribune.com
The Irish American Movie Hooley runs Sept. 27-29 at the Wilmette Theatre, 1122 Central Ave., Wilmette; more information at hibernianmedia.org and www.wilmettetheatre.com