Background

South Wind Blows Ltd was set up in 2006 by Philip King, Nuala O'Connor and Tina Moran who have worked together as a team since 1996 under Hummingbird Productions Limited. Their production credits include:-

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Filmography

Bringing it All Back Home - Emmy Award winning 5 x 1 hour documentary series, that traces the influence of Irish music and explores the way in which that music has influenced American rock country and folk music traditions. It was commissioned by the BBC and RTE for almost £1 million and received international critical acclaim, when it was first screened in 1991. It has sold worldwide to North America, Australia and Scandinavia. (1991)

Irish Music in America - A Musical Migration a 1 x 1 hour Emmy award-winning film that examines the impact of Irish music on the development of modern American music.

The Juliet Letters, Elvis Costello & The Brodsky Quartet, a 1 x 1 hour filmic interpretation of 'The Juliet Letters' song cycle for voice and string quartet. (1993)

Rocky World, Daniel Lanois, a 1 x 1 hour Grammy nominated profile of French-Canadian producer and singer\songwriter, Daniel Lanois featuring U2, Peter Gabriel, Aaron Neville and Bob Dylan. (1993)

Christy a 1 x 1 hour documentary about one of Ireland's most popular singer\songwriter’s. (1994)

A River of Sound a 7 x 40 min documentary series. A series exploring the roots and evolution of Irish traditional music featuring memorable performances and interviews from Ireland's finest musicians. (1994)

Sult - Spirit of the Music I & II - 13 x 1/2 hour studio based music series presented by Donal Lunny. Guest musicians include Van Morrison, Sharon Shannon, Sinéad Lohan, Mary Black, Elvis Costello, Mike Scott, Kirsty McColl, Eddi Reader, Mark Knopfler and many others. (1996 & 1997)

• Meitheal - a 1 x 1 hour documentary on traditional music duo Seamus Begley and Stephen Cooney. (1996)

• Blath Gach Geag da dTig - a young sean nós singer from Donegal, Lillis Ó Laoire, leads us into the world of the traditional singer and draws us back to the source of tradition. He describes his own vital connection to that song source on the mainland of Donegal and on the island of Tory. This 1 x 1 hour film documents the way in which singers today make space for this tradition in the contemporary world. (1997)

• Heritage des Celtes - a concert film shot in Le Zenith in Paris which brings together 70 of the finest musicians and singers from Brittany, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Galicia in a celebration of the spirit and the diversity of Celtic Music. It was transmitted live by TnaG and was also transmitted at a later date by S4C and BBC Scotland. (1998)

• Laoi na Píbe / The Piper’s Call a 1 x 1 hour documentary film. This film is a portrait of an outstanding Irish musician, the uilleann piper, Liam O’Flynn. A Hummingbird Production for TnaG in association with RTE and Tara Music Company Ltd. (1998)

• East meets West - an hour long documentary which reveals the creative impetus behind the Guinness Global Gathering, a gig which brought together the Japanese taiko drumming ensemble KODO and Donal Lunny’s contemporary trad band COOLFIN. A Hummingbird Production in association with Top Floor Management and MCD Promotions for RTÉ in association with NVC ARTS. (1998)

• Because It’s a Lonely World - a one hour documentary celebrating the collaboration of two musical giants, Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach and their acclaimed album “Painted from Memory”. (1998)

• Ceolta Nollag Ó Chorca Dhuibhne - an hour long film featuring a performance of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” by the acclaimed Irish Chamber Orchestra. The film was recorded in St. Mary’s Church in Dingle during December 1998 and also features special guest, traditional singer Áine Uí Cheallaigh. (1998)

• The Joshua Tree - for transmission as part of ITV’s Classic Albums series. (1998)

• Keeping Time – a performance led, made for tv film, featuring the poetry of Seamus Heaney and the piping of Liam O’Flynn. It marks Heaney’s sixtieth birthday and celebrates the longstanding relationship between these two artists and their respective traditions. (1999)

• Sruth na Maoile – Hummingbird produced this 6 x 30min series for BBC Scotland and TnaG during 1999. The series explores the relationship between song and music in the Scot and Irish traditions. (1999)

• Freedom Highway – Hummingbird completed production on this 90 min feature documentary in 2000, which takes the viewer on a journey through the great political songs of time using a combination of contemporary and archive footage and featuring performances and interviews with political singers and activists alike. (2000)

• Shannon – River of Dreams – During 2001 Hummingbird produced an educational DVD based on the river Shannon which celebrates 50 years of the Irish Government sponsoring the arts. The DVD in itself is an artistic response to a river which is the backbone of the country and which spans the four provinces. It was sponsored by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Island and will be given free to every school in Ireland. (2001)

• The Song of Hearts Desire - documents a profound and dynamic exchange between a great tradition and a great singer. The sean-nós tradition (literally Gaelic for “old style”) is the oldest living tradition in Irish music culture and this is Sinéad O’Connor’s personal and musical homage to that tradition. (2002)

• Sinéad O’Connor Live at Vicar Street Dublin - Shot in Vicar Street at the end of Sinéad O’Connor’s first Irish tour in six years, this concert film captures one of Sinéad O’Connor’s most compelling performances. (2002)

• Still Believing - “Still Believing” is a documentary film that celebrates the life of Mary Black in music, where she tells us her story and takes us on a journey from the home she was born in on Charlemont Street to some of the greatest stages of the world and back again. (2002)

• Mary Black Live at The Olympia - Shot during her sold out week long run at her favourite theatre The Olympia in Dublin, these concerts were a sort of homecoming for Mary. With her band Mary performs a set of songs, old and new; they include Columbus, Ellis Island, The Bright Blue Rose, Holy Ground, Moon River, Bob Dylan’s Forever Young, Bless the Road and Still Believing. (2002)

• The Raw Bar (Series 1 & 2) - The ‘Raw Bar ‘is that elusive, pure and indefinable essence of traditional music which offers no easy definition but which is unmistakable when experienced. Presented by former Arts Council Artform Director and well known traditional musician Dermot Mc Laughlin ‘The Raw Bar’ ask the questions: What does it mean to be a traditional musician in Ireland in 2003? ‘The Raw Bar’ is about people, individuals who are as different from each other as it is possible to be while at the same time sharing a vision and an understanding which transcends differences. (2003 & 2004)

• Nigel Kennedy in Dingle - This documentary shot during Nigel Kennedy’s visit to the Dingle peninsula in July 2003 as part of his tour with the Irish Chamber Orchestra gives us a unique insight into the man himself. The programme includes some special footage of his rehearsals with the Irish Chamber Orchestra for the tour, music with local traditional musicians including Sharon Shannon, Pauline Scanlon, Seamus & Brendan Begley and Eoin Duignan amongst others. (2003)

• Nigel Kennedy Live in Concert - In this programme shot in the beautiful St. Mary’s Church in Dingle, Co. Kerry on the last night of a nationwide tour with the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Kennedy doubles as director and soloist in a programme of Bach concertos which also features Fionnuala Hunt, violin and Cork born oboist Aisling Casey. (2003)

• Planxty – Live concert shot in Vicar Street during their reunion tour in 2004 with an accompanying documentary tracing the origins of Planxty to the present day. (2004)

• John McGahern – A Private World – IFTA and Celtic Film Festival Award winning documentary on the life of Irish writer John McGahern. Released on DVD in Ireland in 2006 (2004)

• Two Sounds Live – The Frames – live 90 minute broadcast of an intimate concert with The Frames. (2004)

• Two Sounds Live – The Thrills - live 90 minute broadcast of an intimate concert with The Thrills. (2005)

• Two Sounds Live – Sinéad O’Connor, Sly & Robbie with Special Guests Bellx1 - live 90 minute broadcast of an intimate concert with Bellx1 and Sinead O’Connor with Sly & Robbie. (2005)

• One Faithful Harp. The Life and Music of Thomas Moore - Celebrating the life and work of Thomas Moore, the son of a Dublin shopkeeper who became the darling of London society. Featuring original new settings by musicians and singers including Christy Moore, Luka Bloom, Eimear Quinn, Michael McGlynn, Steve Cooney, Laoise Kelly, and Iarla Ó Lionárd, and unexpected archive recordings by artists like Nina Simone and Joe Strummer of the Clash. (2005)

• Christy Moore Live at the Point – Number one selling dvd. (2006)

• The Harp - A musical journey to discover the ancient and fascinating history of the Harp in Wales and the world, presented by harpist Catrin Finch, with interviews and performances from internationally renowned guests, including Alan Stivell, Carlos Orosco, Alemu Aga, Isabelle Perrin and Elinor Bennett. (2006)

• Donal Lunny – Follow the Music - an intimate portrait of the artist, the man and his music, his early life in Newbridge, the son of a native Irish speaking mother and Northern Irish father and his early realisation that traditional music would be the source and inspiration of his life as a creative artist. (2006)

• Electric Picnic 2006 – Over eight hours of broadcasting live from Ireland’s boutique festival. (2006)

• The Living Bridge – A three part series which explores through documentary and performance a number of musical dialogues and collisions. (2007)

• Gabriel Bryne – a feature length documentary with Gabriel Byrne which is a coproduction with Harvest Films (2008)

• A Christmas Celebration with Eimear Quinn - Filmed on location at the historic and breathtaking Castle Leslie in Co. Monaghan, A Christmas Celebration… is a stunning showcase of hymns and carols, performed by world-renowned Irish singer Eimear Quinn with special guests. (2008)

• The Full Set (Series 1 to 3) - is a series of Irish traditional music first presented by Daithi Ó Sé and then Maired Ni Mhaonaigh of Altan fame. The series features some of the finest duet combinations playing Irish music today. (2006, 2007 & 2008)

• Limits of Liberty – a unique history series of 20th Century Ireland presented and co-written by one of Ireland’s foremost historians, Diarmaid Ferriter (2010)

• Other Voices (Series 1 to 9) – Nine series’ of the popular music show shot in St. James Church in Dingle. From the first series presenter Glen Hansard to Jerry Fish, John Kelly and currently Annie Mac each year they are joined by a number of Irish and International artists. Over 200 artists have preformed at Other Voices including Ellie Goulding, The National, Jarvis Cocker, Marina & the Diamonds, Damien Rice, The Frames, Steve Earle, Cowboy Junkies, The Thrills, James Blunt, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Elbow, Amy Winehouse, Cerys Mathews, Ryan Adams, Ray Davies, Sinead O’Connor, Super Furry Animals, Richard Hawley, James Morrison, Christy Moore, Imelda May, Snowpatrol, Florence and the Machine, Temper Trap, The xx and Brett Anderson amongst many others. (2002 - 2010)

• Windows on the World – an audio visual package of the best of Irish music for the Irish Pavillion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 (2010)
  

We have also produced the music for the soundtrack of John Boorman’s award winning film “The General” and for his movie “Country of my Skull”.

Philip King was the artistic director of “From the Heart” the festival of Irish Arts at the Barbican Centre in 1997 and 1999.

During February 2000 Philip King produced “Dancing on Dangerous Ground” featuring Jean Butler and Colin Dunne for NVC Arts.

Philip King was one of the producers of the highly acclaimed ‘Ireland – Arts from Ireland’ festival at the Kennedy Centre, Washington DC in May 2000.

© South Wind Blows 2011