PRESS KIT

In loco parentis

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“In loco parentis” is a feature documentary film, written and directed by Neasa Ní
Chianáin (“Fairytale of Kathmandu”, 2007, “The Stranger”, 2014) and David Rane. It is a
co-production between Soilsiú Films (Ireland) and Grismedio and RTVE (Spain).

LOGLINE
John and Amanda teach Latin, English and Guitar at a fantastical stately-home-turned-
school. Nearly fifty year careers are drawing to a close for the teachers who have
become legends with the mantra: reading! rithmetic! rock n roll! .... but for pupil and teacher
alike, leaving is the hardest lesson to learn.

SHORT SYNOPSIS
Following a year in the lives of two inspirational teachers in the only primary-age
boarding school in Ireland. Housed in an 18th Century estate, school life embraces
tradition and modernity. For John, rock music is just another subject alongside Maths,
Scripture and Latin, taught in a collaborative and often hilarious fashion. For Amanda the
key to connecting with children is the book and she uses all means to snare the young
minds. For nearly half a century these two have shaped thousands of minds but now the
unthinkable looms: what would retirement mean? What will keep them young if they
leave?
LONG SYNOPSIS
This observational documentary follows a year in the lives of two inspirational teachers in
the only primary-age boarding school in Ireland. Headfort, a school not unlike Hogwarts
with its 18th century buildings, secret doors and magical woodlands has been home to
John and Amanda Leyden for 46 years and a backdrop to their extraordinary careers.

For John, rock music is just another subject alongside Maths, English, Scripture and Latin,
all of which are taught in a collaborative and often hilarious fashion. Tucked away in a
cellar that's home to the school's two rock bands, John nurtures a special kind of youth
revolution that teaches responsibility and independence in equal measure, wrapped up in
heavy metal or pop or, as he tells the kids, they can play whatever they want, as it’s their
space.

For Amanda the key to connecting with children is the book and she uses all means fair
to snare the young minds. Her lair, a charming relic from the 1800's with curved doors
and old bookshelves, is packed to the rafters with thousands of titles from every genre
and for every taste. The children sit transfixed as she takes them on magical journeys
with fantastical characters from tales of all kinds. Past pupils who visit remind her of their
shared literary expeditions with a sense of awe - Amanda just nods and smiles.

Is the school an anachronism in this global world or a clever remake of the flawed British
public school model? It's certainly a contradiction: the epitome of establishment, it's
presided over by a social democrat who eschews class in favour of achievement but
retains the links that connect Headfort to the levers of power. It's a skill the headmaster
could have learnt from John Leyden who taught him, when he was a pupil at Headfort,
just as he produced a slew of other high achievers, now captains of industry, famous
artists and academics.
For nearly half a century John and Amanda have shaped thousands of minds but now the
unthinkable looms: what would retirement mean they muse. Headfort School, spanning
the ancient and the ultra modern has been their life and passion and so they've
challenged the march of time by absorbing the endless supply of young ideas from their
wards - who will keep them young if they leave?

BIOG / FILMOGRAPHY
NEASA NÍ CHIANÁIN, DIRECTOR
Neasa started directing in 2001 with television documentaries. She has directed three
feature documentaries including the award-winning, ‘Frank Ned & Busy Lizzie’, which
won Best Feature award at The Celtic Film Festival 2004, and sold to broadcasters
around the world, ‘Fairytale of Kathmandu’ which world premiered at IDFA 2007, in the
Silver Wolf Competition and was subsequently invited to 25 international Festivals, and
won 3 international awards, including Best Film and Best Director, ‘The Stranger’, which
premiered in Locarno FF 2014 and her most recent film, In Loco Parentis, which had its
World premiere in the Feature Documentary Competition at IDFA in November 2016.
DAVID RANE, DIRECTOR & PRODUCER
David has produced award-winning documentary feature films, including Fairytale of
Kathmandu (2007), The Stranger (2014), In Loco Parentis (2016), animated films,
including the BAFTA-winning Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (2002), and short fiction
films. His company, Soilsiú Films, is a regular recipient of Creative Europe funding, and
has had work screened in France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, and US. David
is the founder and festival director of Guth Gafa International Documentary Festival.

DIRECTORS’ NOTES – ARTISTIC INTENT

In our initial research, we watched many films about schools. What is unique about the
experience in our film, is the level of access we were given, behind the scenes, entering
into a world where every parent would like to be a fly-on-the-wall.

Part of reflecting the world of Headfort is about capturing its aesthetics, the backdrop to
this unusual school. We didn’t want the to be positioned as a voyeur, it was very much a
part of the circle, part of the community.

Our film is the result of the relationship we have built up while researching during our
first year of the project at Headfort. Stemming from this relationship between teacher,
student and film crew, produced intimate footage with raw emotion, that we feel is rarely
found on film or television today.

Our work is not staged, it’s observational in style, the rapport with our characters meant
they accepted our presence in their lives, especially the children who just went on with
their everyday life at Headfort, and allowed us to capture those special moments, where
the kids are just kids, playing in the forts and interacting in the dorms.

Getting to that level of intimacy is a skill and it required a lot of time and trust. We could
not possibly make a film about a boarding school, that unpeels the many layers of this
world without having invested so much time researching, understanding and planning
how to film this very nuanced institution.

Our documentary is an examination of a particular type of childhood and education, a

childhood very different from what most parents in the 21st century deem as
conventional, or even acceptable, and an education that sets Headfort apart from the
norm.

The school building and its grounds, to us acted as a character in the film. The
environment in which the characters are living, shapes the overall experience of the
world the film inhabits. When filming we treated Headfort as a world within itself. Once
the audience enter the world of Headfort school, they never leave the school grounds.
This was an aesthetic decision taken to try to reflect the dilemma and reluctance of most
of the characters in the film, (teachers and students a like) to ever leave the school.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Title: In loco parentis
Year: 2016
Country: Ireland, Spain
Shooting format: Digital
Screening format: DCP
Length: 99 min

CREDITS
Director: Neasa Ní Chianáin
Co-Director: David Rane
Producer: David Rane
Cinematographer: Neasa Ní Chianáin
Sound Recordist: David Rane
Editor: Mirjam Strugalla
Sound Design: Reto Stamm
Composer: Eryck Abecassis
Co-Producers: Angelo Orlando, Montse Portabella, Efthymia Zymvragaki
Financing institutions: Irish Film Board, RTÉ, BAI, Sec 481 Tax Incentives, RTVE
Developed with: Creative Europe, EURODOC

FESTIVALS
" IDFA 2016 – Feature Documentary Competition – World Premiere
" Sundance 2017 - World Cinema Documentary Competition – North American
Premiere
" ADIFF (Audi Dublin International Film Festival) – Centre Piece Gala Film – Irish
Premiere
" Magnificent 7 Film Festival Belgrade
" Sofia International Film Festival, Bulgaria – International Documentary Competition

SELECTED REVIEWS
Variety.com
http://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/in-loco-parentis-review-sundance-1201960808/
Screen Daily
http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/in-loco-parentis-idfa-review/5111567.article!
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Hollywood Reporter
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/loco-parentis-958550

IndieWire
http://www.indiewire.com/2017/01/in-loco-parentis-review-ireland-headfort-school-
sundance-2017-1201770628/

LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-sundance-curtain-raiser-
20170117-story.html
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“The pantheon of big-screen schoolteachers welcomes two offbeat new members via Neasa Ni
Chianain’s delightful crowd-pleaser In loco parentis’
The Hollywood Reporter

“If Hogwarts was an Irish boarding school, this would be it; magical teachers in a ‘Muggle’
world”
Sarah Ahern – Fantastic Flix Programmer for the Dublin International Film Festival

“In the verdant village of Kells, Ireland there’s an antidote to the dark times we live in-a worn
and weathered boarding school with a special magic.”
Sundance

TRAILER LINK
https://vimeo.com/202404429!

WEBSITE
http://inlocoparentis.ie

CONTACT
David Rane Production Company
Producer / Co-director Soilsiú Films
david@soilsiu.com Ireland
Tel: +353 86 8118112 info@soilsiu.com

Neasa Ní Chianáin
Director
neasa@soilsiu.com
Tel: +353 87 278 5216

High Res Stills Available on request