North Circular is a documentary musical that travels the length of Dublin’s North Circular Road, from the Phoenix Park to Dublin Port, exploring the history, music and streetscapes of a street that links some of the country’s most beloved and infamous places.
Told in black and white 4:3 Academy ratio, the film evokes many narratives from the history of the city and nation, from colonialism, to mental health, to the struggle for women’s liberation while also engaging with urgent issues of today, including the battle to save the legendary Cobblestone Pub, centre of Dublin’s recent folk revival, from destruction at the hands of cynical property developers.
The film also includes musical performances from artists local to the North Circular, including John Francis Flynn, Séan Ó Túama, Eoghan O’Ceannabháin, Ian Lynch & Gemma Dunleavy.
"McManus has fashioned a remarkable contemporary document of places, people, lives and times with North Circular, as past, present and future smash together in front of our eyes. Black and white rarely looks as colourful as in that final sequence."
Luke Maxwell, Dublin Inquirer
"Resonant, vivid and beautifully shot film...What distinguishes North Circular is the overwhelming importance of music: there's a musical tradition here that is not simply commemorative and static, but vital and evolving, and given a fresh burst of creativity by the emerging status of women in Ireland – the film features a potent contribution from north Dublin singer-songwriter Gemma Dunleavy. A film made with real artistry." —Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
"Shot in a ghostly black-and-white... The film has an original and at times disarming approach to bearing witness." —Ben Kenigsberg, New York Times
"Strikingly perceptive and uncannily intelligent. A heartfelt feature, involved and thoughtful." —Calan Panchoo, Film Threat
"What really entrances... are the songs bellowed by subjects in pubs along the road, essentially supplementing individual interviews with a broader historical context of the North Circular Road, the city of Dublin and Ireland as a whole." —Natalia Keogan, Filmmaker Magazine
