IT’S certainly a long way from Corduff to Hollywood but local actor, Ciara Rose Burke, has worked hard to get there and is really looking forward to her first taste of Tinseltown.
“I’m ready, all I have to do now is find something to wear,
? she laughs.
“I never would have thought I’d actually get to Hollywood. It’s very exciting for us all.
?
‘Us all’ includes her mum Rose, cousin Teresa Kottemann and Brazilians Thairon Mendes and Humberto Rosa of Redline Films who produced
‘Invoked’, the low budget horror movie Ciara stars in.
Invoked has been selected for the Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival, the biggest event of its kind outside the South American country. Ciara’s involvement with the Latino partners came about by chance, after they responded to a small ad she posted on Gumtree.
“I’d written a short film called City of Hate and I was asking if anybody would be interested in making it with me and they came forward,
? the 26-year-old says.
“They already have a company in Brazil, and they’re trying to break into the English language market. That’s why they came to Ireland.
?
After working on City of Hate Mendes and Rosa asked Ciara to play one of the leads in their horror movie, which was shot around Sligo, edited in Brazil and picked up by Sony Pictures after it was entered into the LA festival.
Working on the movie was a real labour of love, but Ciara – who works full time for a Government agency – believed in it enough to become an investor in the project.
“We couldn’t get funding because we’d missed the deadline for grant applications so I helped fund it with the lads,
? she says.
“I put my own savings to it. I just believed in it, and I believed in them and they believed enough in me to give me the part.
“I hope that if Invoked gets good recognition it’ll put the spotlight on City of Hate too, so that it might get accepted into festivals.
?
Ciara is passionate about acting, singing and anything to do with movies. She’s acted in Fair City, worked as a trainee assistant director on Brendan O’Carroll’s Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie and supported Westlife on stage when she sang with RTE choir Cor na nOg as a youngster.
Now living in Clonsilla, Ciara grew up in Corduff and went to St Patrick’s primary school where her talent was first spotted by an eagle-eyed teacher.
“She put me in for Cor na nOg, she believed in me,
? Ciara recalls.
“She just said there’s this choir and I think you’d be brilliant for it. Over 1,000 children auditioned at the time and I got one of the 12 places.
“Then when I was in fifth or sixth class another teacher put me in for panto with Twink so I auditioned for that as well.
“The teachers in St Patrick’s saw something in me and encouraged me in primary school and that’s where I built up my confidence.
?
Performing with Cor na nOg and in Twink’s pantos taught Ciara about the huge commitment and dedication needed to succeed in the entertainment industry.
She’s also learned that hard work and talent isn’t enough if you don’t get the breaks. As she got older Ciara began losing confidence and signed up for actor Mary Murray’s Visions Drama school and agency.
“Mary got me the part in Fair City, she encouraged me to keep going and that’s when I wrote City of Hate,
? she says.
Bubbling with talent and personality, Ciara is now just hoping that
‘Invoked’ will be the spark to ignite a career she’s worked so hard at over the years.
“It’s my passion,
? she says.
“I take holiday days from work to act and if I get a part I ask if I can come in the evenings or the weekends. I’ll give all my spare time to a project if I really believe in it.
?
Ciara will also rope whoever she can, including family, into projects she believes in. Her mum helped out with the catering on Invoked while cousin Teresa, a talented artist, was convinced to become a costume designer.
They’ll both be in LA for the festival next month, and maybe one day will recall it as the event that helped kick-start a hard-earned full time career for local talent, Ciara Rose Burke.