Pauline's ready to see her film debut in local cinema

A cheerful afternoon, or even day, could be spent in the company of Pauline Downey from St Kieran's Terrace, who would be an ideal choice for a film director who needed someone open and chatty to talk about life. Indeed, two years ago, this is exactly what happened to the retired Telecom employee, when she was contacted by the makers of 'His & Hers' a documentary featuring scores of women from all over the Midlands, and is being released in Athlone cinema this Friday June 18. As Chairwoman of the Athlone Widows Association, Pauline received a phonecall from the film-makers who were based in Tullamore, to say that director Ken Wardrop and Andrew Freedman wanted to meet with a group of local widows. "I brought around 12 with me, all from around the Athlone area. We met them in the Radisson and we all had a chat with Ken. They were two lovely young men," explained Pauline last week, still shocked but delighted at how the film's success has grown since its limited release last year. "They picked two women, myself and Kathleen (Kay) Egan, who lives in Summerhill, she's in it as well. I was very excited. I thought this was something unusual and different. They said they'd like to come and talk to us and we sat at the kitchen table, myself and Ken and we chatted for ages about one thing and another, it went on for ages. Then I got another phone call to say they wanted to do some filming, so they came here to the house and took over!" Being a huge movie buff, Pauline, who grew up in St Francis Terrace, is a big fan of classics such as Casablanca and Westerns, and she relished the opportunity to see how the film crew went about their work in her cosy home in St Kieran's Terrace - where the walls are decorated with pictures of her family. "They set it all up - it took longer to set up than it did to interview me - and took a shot of me going downstairs and in the kitchen setting the table, it was really interesting to see how a film is made. I love watching everything, black and white, cowboys - I love John Wayne and how he camped it up, I always had a great interest in films and I watch them over and over again." In the documentary, all the girls, teenagers and adults featured, speak about the men in their lives; brothers, fathers, husbands, sons, moving consecutively from childhood to elderly years. Pauline was recorded speaking about her son Brian. Although she has six children, Pauline spoke to Ken about her youngest son, because he had just moved back home with her after spending time abroad and she was getting used to having him in the house again, as an adult. She said herself and Ken seemed to connect because he was a similar age to Brian and they spoke about the changing nature of relations between children and parents. "Ken's mother is still alive, he's very close to her and he's really genuine. We talked and talked and talked," she said, obviously very fond of the experience she had with the documentary. "It's beautifully made in the sense that the music flows gently from one character to another and it goes from child to teen and they are the funny bits, but then as it moves to the adults it is sad, more poignant," she added. Since it's low-key release last summer, the film has received huge acclaim and rave reviews. It received a World Cinematography Award for a Documentary at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and also won the Irish Film & Television Awards. Sadly, despite the hours of talking and filming, Pauline only appears near the end of the documentary for about a minute. "Blink and you'll miss it," she laughed. Pauline will be getting her glad rags on for the Athlone premiere tomorrow (Thursday) June 17 in Athlone IMC Cinema, which she is attending with her two sisters who also live locally, her children, five of whom live in Athlone, and grandchildren.Next year, it could be the Oscars! Meanwhile, the film will be shown on Cinemobile at Tuar Ard Car Park in Moate on Thursday, June 24 at two screenings (6pm and 8pm). Tickets are available from www.cinemobile.ie