For the past six months, filming has been taking place - from Bellaghy to Boston to Dublin - for a new feature-length documentary about the life and work of Seamus Heaney, provisionally titled Seamus Heaney: The Music of What Happens. The film, which has been commissioned by BBC Arts and produced by DoubleBand Films and Lone Star Productions, will be released in autumn 2019 and aired on BBC2.
This is the first major documentary about Seamus Heaney since Charlie McCarthy’s award-winning Out of the Marvellous, which was made to celebrate Heaney’s 70th birthday, ten years ago. While Out of the Marvellous featured interviews with the poet himself and followed him on various trips, this new film considers on the full arc of his life, his relationships with family and fellow writers, and on the poems themselves. With personal contributions from Heaney’s wife Marie, his children and siblings, among others, it promises to offer insights on the people and places that shaped him, and a fresh perspective on his life and work in what would have been the year of his 80th birthday.
We’ll be sharing more information in the coming months about release dates - and maybe even a trailer! Follow us on Twitter for updates.
