‘Magic Primitivism in a border landscape: representations of Donegal on film’

A very popular contributor to the Festival, Ballyshannon man Ken Fox brings his fascinating view on how Donegal has been portrayed on film all down the years. 

Portrayal of the county tends to concentrate on mountains, valleys, lakes,  rivers and the magnificent vistas of the Atlantic Ocean beating on the rugged coastline. Ken Fox will offer a fascinating look at how these representations of the landscape overlap and merge with the human made element of the county, such as the border, tourists and terrorists. It is this, what he terms ‘’magic primitivism’’ that makes Donegal such an attraction for filmmakers.  Ken’s talks are always enlightening and never less than entertaining.

Dr Ken Fox recently retired as Principal Lecturer in the School of Creative Arts and Industries, Canterbury Christ Church University, U.K. Ken now works as an independent researcher focusing on how Donegal, as part of the Wild Atlantic Way, is represented in film and television. Ken is a native of Ballyshannon and he cites his visits to the Abbey Cinema in the 1960s and 1970s as a key resource for his academic career as a film scholar. Ken’s publications include: 

Fox, K. (2023) "Going to the Pictures: the influence of cinema going on creative artists in the border regions of Ireland.” Australasian Journal of Irish Studies. Vol. 23. pp. 54-72. 

Lovell, J. and Fox, K. (2023). "Always the desert: creating affective landscapes in Breaking Bad". in: Champion, E., Lee, C., Stadler, J. and Peaslee, R. M. (eds.) Screen Tourism and Affective Landscapes: The Real, the Virtual and the Cinematic. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 121-135.