Institute of Art Design + Technology
Dún Laoghaire

Rory Fitzpatrick 

BA [Hons] Film + Television Production

Rory Fitzpatrick is passionate about telling unique, personal stories that are rooted in Irish and Queer culture. After spending a year studying cinematography in FAMU, Prague, they have used their skills in camera and visual storytelling to inform their Directing style. They want to make films that empower under-represented people and encourage a Queer cinema market in Ireland. As a gay individual growing up in Northern Ireland, Rory felt starved of empowering representation on screen - they would like to help change this for others.

I Saw Myself Dead (2022)

I Saw Myself Dead is a short film that I wrote and directed as my graduation project. It follows twenty two year old Cillian when he discovers that he has a twin brother who has died suddenly. He visits his brothers family to understand who he was.
Through this film I wanted to explore the idea of duality and how conflict around us affects the person we are. The story is rooted in Northern Ireland culture and what it is like to be queer there. It is told through visual storytelling and intimate insights into Cillian's life.


Bridging the Great Straight Divide; The Responsibility of the Queer Gaze

My thesis delved into how viewership of queer characters has changed over time, the harm it has done and how we can better approach representation in the future.
Queer cinema is something that has come out of the sheer resilience of heteronormative film. I study the work of French-Canadian director, Xavier Dolan, comparing it to the earliest representation of queer characters as well as some concerning contemporary examples as well.
In this thesis I try to provide an outlook for queer cinema as a complex and dynamic representation of LGBTQ+ characters, understanding that all types of queer folk should be celebrated - not just those that appeal to a heteronormative pallet.