The 2006 Irish film Once received awards and enthusiastic reviews. Hong Kong's Culture Club Gallery will screen this musical story, written and directed by John Carney, on March 23 at 8 p.m.

Set in Dublin, the naturalistic drama stars musicians Glen Hansard (of popular Irish rock band The Frames) and Markéta Irglová as struggling musicians. Past collaborators, Hansard and Irglová composed and performed all the original songs.

An unnamed, thirty-something Dublin busker (Hansard) sings and plays guitar on Grafton Street, a Dublin shopping district. Lured by his music, an unnamed young, Czech immigrant flower-seller (Irglová) approaches him. Despite his annoyance, she questions him about his songs. Delighted to learn that he also repairs vacuum cleaners in his father's shop, she insists that he fix her broken cleaner. The next day she brings her Hoover by and parlays it into lunch together before stirring his interest by telling him she's a musician, too.

Culture Club Gallery
Central, Hong Kong

(March 18, 2011)



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