When alone poem breaks ties with his country and travels. When the melody speaks directly to the heart of the whole people. When a song becomes an anthem Through a rare combination of things that happen and don’t repeat, a poem that an Irish activist Brendan Bean he wrote at the age of 13 it became symbol of resistance in Greece through his music Miki Theodorakis and this is a creepy performance Maria Faraduri in a historic 1974 concert at the Karaiskaki Stadium. But who knows what “laughing child” Was he none other than the iconic Irish rebel Michael Collins?

The untold story is written in documentary His Laughing Boy. Alan Gilsenan, which received the Audience Award at the 25th Thessaloniki International Festival. The film follows the poet Theo Dorgan as it traces the course of the poem, intertwining the modern history of Ireland and Greece – both steeped in trauma. “There is something magical and mysterious that such a simple thing as a song managed to be translated and mutated into the emotional core of another country,” says “K” The 60-year-old Irish director, who was particularly fond of Bian’s poem, was unaware of the connection he had made with Greece. “The one who first told me the story of the song that forever united the two countries was producer Katherine Bird, eternally in love with everything Greek.”

The Laughing Boy, written in 1936 by the young Bian, was an obituary to Michael Collins, one of the leaders of the IRA and the soul of the Irish anti-British urban rebellion (2022 marked the centenary of his death). It appeared in 1962 in Greece, translated by Vassilis Rotas and set to music by Theodorakis, in an adaptation of Bian’s play The Hostage. “Laughing Child” was associated with Belogiannis, Lambrakis (Kostas Gavras used it as the main musical motive in his film “Z”), Sotiris Petroulas. Quickly the phrase “ours killed the laughing child” (after Collins was killed by Irish fire) turned into “our enemies are killed”, and after the fall of the junta, “enemies” became “fascists”. In this verse, the “Laughing Child” continues to take the form of misguided youths such as Grigoropoulos and Fyssas, remaining to this day one of the most powerful Greek song symbols.

The film tells about the poet Theo Dorgan, who traces the course of the poem and the modern history of the two countries.

Almost mythical man

No one had any doubts that Bian’s song “spoke” in Greek as well. But what, in his opinion, allows the song to find a second life, a second home? According to Gilsenan, “there is something universal in the concept of a young man (SS says it in Greek). Something to do with innocence, idealism and an attitude towards death. This is an almost mythical figure that Bian managed to describe. But the true power of a song or poem is the mystery of why some things resonate and so many others don’t. I try not to analyze all this too much, because it is the opposite of analysis, it is the unpredictable possibilities of our art.” However, it is no coincidence that the thread united these two countries. “We are two countries on the edge of Europe, countries that have known poverty and oppression, but we both have a very strong, creative and mythological life – a fantasy world that undermines the mundane everyday life. There are other things that unite us, joy, sociability, fun, but all this against the backdrop of melancholy and nostalgia for the past.”

Filmed in Ireland, France and Greece, the film features famous Irish and Greek artists such as Andy Irvine, Donal Lunny, MayKay, Liam O’Maonlai, David Power and of course Maria Faranduri. Among others, Pantelis Voulgaris, Roberos Mantoulis and Pantelis Boukalas talk about “The Laughing Child” and Eleni Karaindrou composed the original music. “It was great to be part of the history of a great nation and to work with so many great people. I’ve been a big fan of Theo Angelopoulos for years, and while making this film, I felt like I was moving in his landscape – while our images aren’t as poetic and impressive as his, the inspiration was there. It is a great joy, very great, that I have collaborated with Eleni Karaindrou in music. I’m grateful for that.”

Laughing Child, which won the Pull Focus award for Best New Irish Documentary at the Docs Ireland 2022 Awards in addition to the Thessaloniki Audience Award, will be screened on Wednesday 5 April at 20:00. at the French Institute of Greece (Sina 31) and on Sunday, April 9 at 16:00. in the cinema “Danaos” (Kifisias Ave., 109).