Farah Abushwesha
A London Irish Story as told to Anna Johnston
“I was born in Holles Street in Dublin to my Irish mother, an artist and my Libyan writer-artist father. They met at a poetry reading in McDaid's pub in Dublin. We moved around a lot growing up, living in Dublin, London, Malta, Libya but I’d see my Irish grandparents frequently.
When I was seven my parents made the tough decision to send me back to Ireland from Libya as my dad was accused of treason against the Gaddafi leadership and was put under house arrest. I had a backdrop of political upheaval in Libya and bohemian parents which I didn’t quite understand as a child. I was certainly traumatised by it knowing that my parents weren’t quite safe but not sure why. I would have to suppress it in an Irish society that didn’t understand the political upheaval of Libya. A year later, after his trial where he was found innocent, my mum joined me back in Ireland. I was never ashamed of being Libyan and Irish, but I knew I didn’t quite fit in.
The move back to Ireland from Libya was hard because even though I could speak two languages, I wasn’t at the same reading and writing level as my peers. The school wanted to put me a lower younger class, but my grandmother, an Irish teacher, insisted that she would get me up to the same level as my peers within six weeks and she did.
She would make me write and re-write letters to my parents in Libya until they were perfect! My Granny was a singer in her youth and sung for Maud Gonne who she befriended. I can speak some Irish because of her and it’s handy sometimes.
As a child, I had a big personality, seeking out different opportunities and auditions to express myself like the Dublin Children’s Opera.
I moved to Paris for a few years when I was 21. Whilst there, I entered the Rose of Tralee as the Paris Rose. I didn’t get far in the competition as they said I was a bit too “raunchy”. Living in Paris, I found my crowd. People who were mixed nationalities too - we gravitated together throwing wild parties and were creatively encouraging of each other; we made short films, performed theatre plays and I wrote. However, I soon realised that there was a ceiling for me in Paris because my French wasn't good enough for bigger parts. I came to London for a weekend on the Eurostar. Whilst here, I heard of drama school auditions happening that Tuesday so I changed my train, auditioned and got in! I came to London for a weekend and basically never left.
Although I was a good actress, I realised you need great determination to face constant rejection at castings. Drama school taught me the foundations of what I needed to be a producer so that’s what I did. My first short film was about a desperate woman who breaks into a sperm bank. I went to the Cannes Film Festival, asked men to donate their sperm and give me the proceeds. We made the news with journalists calling us the “sperm angels” and more importantly raised over £60,000. It’s been non-stop since I've made TV shows, feature films and written two books demystify breaking into the film industry. I set up the BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Competition in 2000 bringing together new writers with established actors, directors, and producers – it’s a hugely respected competition and launched award-winning careers.
In 2015, I worked with an amazing actor-writer Conor MacNeill and director Andrea Harkin we made a short film called The Party with support from Screen Ireland for the 1916 Centenary. It’s based on a true story set in Northern Ireland during the ‘70s and got a BAFTA nomination. I was sent the script for Irreplaceable You set in New York. We shot it there and it sold as a Netflix Original. It stars Gugu Mbatha Raw, Christopher Walken and Steve Coogan.
I got into activism during the Libyan revolution. My dad was unable to communicate with us as he had throat cancer and lost his voice. Gaddafi shut down texts and social media, making it impossible to get a hold of him.
I didn’t want to stand-by and do nothing so I met up with other Libyans in England we smuggled aid into the country. I ran my first-ever 10K and raised £5,000 - if you know me, you know I don’t even run for a plane! I think everyone should be an activist for a year for something they believe in.
I live in Angel, London near the canal, with Stan the cat but I miss the sea and Dublin Bay. I work in Ireland whenever I can. I particularly missed Ireland during lockdown and not able to fly back every 6 weeks as I do. I’d love to move back but buying a home there is very expensive. But I am always there for the Dublin Film Festival and Galway Film Fleadh. At the end of the day - I’ll always be a bean bhródúil Gaelach albeit half Libyan and living in London.
