Director Biography - Shane W. Brennan

Shane is an Irish Writer/Director, who graduated with an Honours Degree in Multimedia from DCU in 2010 where he focused his studies on video production. His group thesis project, “Pashli – Make A Difference”, was awarded first-class honours, and won the best university media project in Ireland in 2010, via The Digital Hub’s “Best In Show”. https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/category-winners-in-best-in-show-chosen

After university, Shane moved into the world of marketing and advertising, but regardless of what position he held, Shane would use his love of video/film to elevate the brands he worked with. It was such a passion of Shane’s to make quality video production accessible to brands, that he co-founded MODO Creative with his creative partner Aaron Chalke in 2014, a moonlighting venture that allowed him to scratch his production itch in parallel with his media planning 9-5 role. Then in 2015, a dream came through with MODO Creative producing its first TV ad for McDonald’s, one of the biggest brands in the world, for the launch of their first Irish burger. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1xkm-mzlm4

Today, Shane continues to create advertising as the Resident Director & Creative Director at Foe. He has gone on to direct, write and produce films for brands such as; Lidl, HSE, An Post, Waterford Stanley, PwC, KBC, AIB, and Liberty Insurance.

While Shane has been making videos/films for over a decade, “Shadowban” makes his first true directorial debut. This film is a completely original story that planted itself in Shane’s head over 4 years ago. He is delighted to be able to share this film now and hopes people enjoy it, as well as consider the very current themes at the heart of the story.

All of Shane’s previous work can be found on his website www.shanewbrennan.com

 Director Statement

Being from the Irish countryside I have been subjected to the unease of stopping at a temporary traffic light in the dead of night. All alone in the dark, bathed in red, making sure the doors are locked and contemplating what could happen. Despite this discomfort, I was also paralysed by the social obligation not to break the rules even if no one was watching. I must wait until the all-knowing traffic light tells me it’s safe, but why should I trust the traffic light over my own senses? In today’s world, we blindly trust technology, which is ironic because we use technology to lie. We lie about who we are, how we look, and how we feel every single day. So what is to say that autonomous technology can’t lie to us? It can be corrupted and manipulated not for our benefit but for our demise, and like moths to the flame, we wouldn’t know until it’s too late.

Ireland is an ancient country with traditions rooted in millennia of practice. Our folklore has survived colonisation, starvation, and emigration, but it seems it cannot outlast modernisation. Since the light of the modern world has grown on Irish shores, its old mythology is disappearing with the darkness, as well as it’s peoples knowledge and respect for the unknown and tales of Samhain (Halloween), the Dullahan, the Banshee, and many more.

In this film I wanted to explore a story where Ancient Ireland lashes out in anger, manipulating our newfound reliance on technology to take its revenge for being forgotten. Our main character Fiona represents a new generation that has forgotten the old ways and is only interested in virtual connections of likes, comments, and views. Fiona soon learns that blindly trusting technology and ignoring the world around her can be very dangerous. This mirrors broader modern societal questions, while people all over the world benefit from the globe getting smaller through digital connectivity, what is being left behind in the wake of this progress? Should we stop, look up and connect with the world/people around us instead of always looking further afield?