“As a director I am very drawn to realism, I feel that reality is often your best friend and I love to dive deep into the core of a historical movement or take inspiration from real life events to shape my characters and narrative.”
It’s those interests and inclinations that brought Michael Antonio Keane to the 90s rave scene as the setting for his latest short Into The Silence. That optimistic era brought rave music to the capital as crowds gathered from all classes to meet in clubs like Sides, UFO, the Olympic Ballroom and the Asylum to dance and party, if not in whatever empty warehouse was available. Though the director tells us some of his main inspiration comes from closer to home.
“Being from Cork I felt it was necessary to dive deep into the history of the house scene, I took a great deal of inspiration from Sir Henry’s nightclub which was a big rave spot back in the early 90s. I looked at it both as a venue and the atmosphere it used to have so that we could recreate something in the style of, giving it a humble nod.“
It’s amongst similar scenes that Keane’s film follows a young DJ Bastien, who has to confront the echoes of a life-altering event to rediscover his passion in a time of chaos. The short aims to explore explores the themes of resilience, recovery, and the healing power of creativity. Grappling with the anxiety of keeping his DJing from disapproving parents and the processing of a personal trauma, Bastien (played by Daniel Soluns) has to navigate both the risks and rewards of his world. Into The Silence is a story about creativity as a tool for healing, and that power coming through in electronic music continues to resonate in modern times – see Dublin’s own For Those I Love for a powerful example.
Keane is currently based in Smithfield while completing his studies in filmmaking at IADT’s National Film School. Only 21 years of age, Keane has already been directing for some time, after first gaining notice for writing, directing and starring in lockdown film Covid Eire in 2020, which won the Spirit Award at that year’s IndieCork Film Festival.
In 2023, Keane’s Like a bolt from the blue saw him nominated for Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year 2023 at the Fresh International Film Festival in Limerick and win a Jury Award at the Student World Impact Film Festival in US and be shortlisted for Best Drama at the All American High School Film Festival.
Not resting on his laurels, Keane continues to build up his body of work with Into The Silence, which is hitting the festival circuit and will premiere with a screening at Windmill Lane on the 17th of July, with cast and crew in attendance for a Q&A.
The short transports viewers back to the early 90s, with a grainy and gritty feel to the footage that makes Bastien and his friend’s lives feel current, and lived in. The thumping music goes both ways tonally, placing us into this character’s euphoria as he’s moved by the music, and putting the pressure on in the moments he’s most trapped in his head, flowing beats turned to unbearable din.
Recreating the feel of the era was key for Keane, both in the music and in the film’s central location, a warehouse that hosts the short’s DJ sets.
“During my research I took a great deal of inspiration from the likes of Carl Cox, Njoi, Inner City, Joe Smooth and Frankie Knuckles, this really inspired us to create the original tracks featured in the film. I have been really inspired by found footage and archive of Illegal warehouse raves through documentary and film captured first hand it allowed me to envision how I would stylistically set about recreating the rave, gritty, crowded and sweaty fuelled with blue strobe lights.
We were very lucky to secure the upstairs Topdeck area of the Lighthouse in Dun Laoghaire which allowed us to fill the room with a modest amount of ravers but also those high ceilings in a tight space that we needed for lighting.”
Earnest and emotional, the film doesn’t shy away from the negative sides of the scene, the raids and the dangers associated with drug use. But a passion for the music and its power for connection shines through, with Keane showing a deep cut consideration for the genre, one which perfectly serves the story that the film tells.
“I have always felt very moved and inspired by piano house music particularly tracks going back to the late 1980s to early 1990s during the Acid House movement in the United Kingdom, North America such as Chicago, Detroit and of course crossing over to Ireland.
I feel that house music can allow you to feel something unique, electrifying that no other genre can do, it also fuels me as a director and screenwriter to bring the story to life, so I know it needed to play a significant role in both the character Bastien’s life and the story.”
The trailer for Into The Silence has now been released by Keane and co, which you can check out ahead of the film screening at Windmill Lane (tickets are available now here). The short is also set to screen at the upcoming 16th Underground Film Awards, and at the end of this July in the shorts programme of the Mallow Arts Festival.