Moe Honan

Enrolled on a BA in Science course during her first year at NUI Galway, Moe Honan (BA ’88) realised half way through her first year that she was more interested in her older sister’s course work (English literature) than her own. She switched the following year and flew through four years of English and German, before throwing herself immediately into an MA in German Literature.

With the sudden passing of her father, Moe left her MA dreams behind and has been working in the world of media and film since 1993. With a natural flair for communications, she engaged with documentary storytelling, which led to work in post production and animation.

“Once I started to work in animation, I knew it was for me; I just loved the medium. You have so much more freedom with what you want to express. I loved it at every stage of the process. The story development, the script writing, the animation, the voice recording and working with the actors, it all appealed to me. And these days, when I am buried alive under the legal and tax end of the business, I always make time to indulge in voice directs. It keeps me sane!”

Putting her natural business acumen to work, Moe wanted to build a business model that would sustain itself in the west of Ireland. Making content for TV and Film to entertain a variety of audiences means that the work is long running and a much slower process. Her desire to create new projects and get people into work pushed her to start her own business and Moetion Films was born.

“The industry and film sector in Ireland has grown from strength to strength.We are now punching well above our weight, producing world renowned and award winning pieces. Irish people have a natural storytelling ability so it makes sense that we would be good at it. Now we just need to make sure students are offered the chance to obtain the digital skills required to enhance their natural storytelling skills.”

With her debut film, Two by Two, one of the highest grossing films at the box office this year, Moe is confident we will be hearing more from Moetion Films in the near future. When Entertainment One closed the deal in December 2014 to distribute the film in English speaking countries, including the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US, she knew the future looked bright.

The film was written by Irish writers Richard Conroy and Mark Hopkinson and Galway-based writer Marteinn Thorisson. In total about 120 people were employed in Ireland during the course of the film production.

As a final note, Moe shared her true inspiration for taking the ball and running with it into the world of creative arts and film.

“It was Michael D. He brought these opportunities to the west. There was job creation when he brought the Irish Film Board to Galway and his passion for ensuring the arts have a vibrant place in Irish society was infectious. Now, with Galway being listed as a UNESCO City of Film, the annual Film Fleadh that attracts industry people from all over the world, and the Picture Palas cinema project finally nearing completion, it is easy to see why we might qualify for European Capital of Culture 2020. We are wearing our badge proudly.”

Moe’s film, Two by Two, an animated story about a couple of animals who never made it on to Noah’s ark, is available on DVD.