BELFAST film-maker Sean McConville first grabbed the attention of both the public and the press in November last year when he released his Northern Irish Father Ted parody, Pastor Ed. The three-part web series has amassed more than 20,000 views on YouTube.
“I can’t remember what exactly it was that got me into film-making, but I am part of the YouTube generation, so I reckon that probably had something to do with it,” he laughs.
“I was really into sketch comedy and people like Jack and Dean or Key & Peele and it just looked like really good fun.
“Then I started watching the likes of Shane Todd which was quite a novelty because he was doing local stuff and I think that’s when I started to think I could give it a go too.”
Prior to Pastor Ed, Sean wrote several other satirical comedy skits about his homeland and its culture.
In 2021 he released Reunification, which sees two ex-IRA generals reunite in a loyalist bar in Belfast after years of being apart, but things take a turn when one of them suggests they “blow up the pub”. The spoof was nominated for best Irish sketch at the Dublin International Comedy Festival.
“The fact Reunification did so well give me the confidence to do bigger things,” says Sean.
In 2022 he penned If Heaven Was A Nightclub, which won third place for best student comedy short at the Lit Laughs International Comedy Film Festival and came second in the UK Student Film Festival in 2022.
“The goal is to create something that works on local sense but also more broadly,” explains the 23-year-old.
“Take Derry Girls for example – people from here can understand it on a deeper level but it has that upper level as well where anybody can get it, and anybody can find it funny.
“So, you are kind of aiming for that middle ground where you can make it funny because it’s local but also funny because it’s funny.
“And I think that’s why Pastor Ed is the best and biggest thing we’ve done.”
Sean believes that part of Pastor Ed’s appeal is due to the light-hearted Father Ted-esque way in which the series approaches contemporary issues facing Northern Ireland.
“I had this whole thought process when it came to Ed and Denis because I wanted them to be likeable and watchable characters but they’re in the Orange Order which is obviously quite a divisive and controversial group.
“So, I thought it would be funny to have these two fellas in the Orange Order, trying to subscribe to its values but they just can’t help but be bad at it.
“Don’t get me wrong Ed is not a bastion for left-wing ideals but there’s a sense of innocence about him where he’s a bit like Michael Scott from The Office.
“And I think that’s why we’ve had such a positive response overall.”
However, in addition to his sketches Sean has also been dabbling in the world of comedy rap, creating his alter ego Post Upper Malone and releasing his first track Malone Road Rap which pokes fun at the rising Northern Irish rap scene.
“I’m a south Belfaster” he admits.
“I went to Methody, and my mates used to make fun of me for being posh and for my accent and I just thought it’d be funny to lean into that.
“And there’s a big rap scene kicking off in Belfast at the moment with Kneecap and stuff and they’re showing the more street side of the city, so I decided I’d do the opposite and create a character that’s unashamedly posh.
“And it was really good fun, so I’d definitely like to do more of those videos.”
He has also been putting his Irish language skills to the test in his lead role in Róise Nic an Bheatha’s, Le Chéile (Together) - the world’s first narrative short film in Irish and Scottish Gaelic which is currently doing the rounds on the film festival circuit.
“I don’t actually speak Irish,” he confesses.
“I learnt it phonetically for the film – my cousin speaks it fluently so she did all the lines for me, and I just listened back to them, and did it as best as I could.
“I think it came off well, the only thing was on the day I came in they’d changed some of the lines and I was like ‘oh no’.
“But apart from that it was good craic and either way it’s good dad lore for the future.
“If I don’t end up going into film-making or end up doing something completely different, I’ll still be happy that I’ve done all this stuff because I’m able to look back on this time when my friends and I made some fun films together.”
Having just graduated with a degree in film from the University of Glasgow, Sean hopes to establish a career where he can continue to make meaningful comedic content for the masses.
“I want to be a comedy writer and make a living doing what I’m doing now because I really love it,” he explains.
“Lisa McGee is a real hero of mine, I’d really love to make something that has a similar impact to Derry Girls - something that’s Northern Irish based, that’s authentic and has our kind of humour intertwined within it but also has a universal appeal.
“A cult classic maybe? Who knows.”
