1. When did you think about a career in film and what were your first steps into it?
I've always been a bit obsessive about films but I never thought I'd ever get a job making them. Lurgan was a long way from Hollywood. When I left university, I learned the Irish Language Broadcast Fund (part of Northern Ireland Screen) was training Irish speakers in TV production and I leapt at the chance. I directed my first documentary at 24, and it's been my job ever since.
2. Best gigs you've been to?
Rage Against the Machine at Oxegen Festival in 2008, Monotonix in The Menagerie, Belfast in 2009 and Frank Ocean in London in 2016.
3. Fantasy wedding/birthday party band?
I love Sam Cooke's album Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963. I wish I could have seen that in person. That would be some great energy to bring.
4. The record you would take to a desert island?
I imagine I'd be homesick so I'd take Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Thomas Bartlett's eponymously-titled album, which reminds me of Irish road trips with my wife, Sarah. Or something by Planxty or Luke Kelly to remind me of a happy childhood.
5. The book you would bring to a desert island?
EH Gombrich's The Story of Art – interesting history, well told, with lots of nice pictures to look at.
6. Top three films?
I watch a lot of films, but constantly find myself returning to Jaws, Seven and Rear Window. I could live another 100 years and still not understand how those three directors (Hitchcock, Spielberg and Fincher) do what they do.
7. Worst film you've seen?
Having made one now I'm reluctant to criticise any film. It takes so much time and effort from so many just to get it made. That being said, I can't forgive any of The Matrix sequels for ruining the good name of the flawless first film.
8. Favourite authors?
I read a lot for work, and because there's a lot of cross-over between my work and personal interests, it never feels like a chore. Mostly I read books on film-making or Irish history, but this last year I've particularly loved books by three local (ish) authors – Susan McKay, Doireann Ní Ghríofa and the excellent Brian McGilloway. I'm excited to see what they do next.
9. Sport you most enjoy?
I try to avoid sports to protect my carefully honed Dad-bod. However, I loved The Last Dance – the documentary about Michael Jordan. Does that count?
10. Ideal holiday destination?
We bought a 22-year-old, comically-small caravan last year (think Father Ted). I can't think of anything better than parking up at the beach in Carrickfinn, Co Donegal and getting stuck into a stack of books.
11. Pet hates?
People spelling my name 'Damien'. Also, running out of coffee and when I let a car out in front of me and they don't wave thank you. It's a long list.
12. What's your favourite:
Dinner? Cowboy supper.
Dessert? Banana split.
Drink? Coffee or beer – too close to call.
13. Who is your best friend and how do you know each other?
My wife Sarah. We share a home office space and an excellent cat called Púca. Sarah's a writer and we find ourselves working on projects together more and more. We met in the way all great, classic love stories begin...Tinder.
14. Is there a God?
I don't think so. I've never been spiritual. But each to their own.
Damian McCann's feature film, Doineann, is currently showing at selected Irish cinemas. Starring Bríd Brennan and Peter Coonan, it tells the story of the disappearance of a woman and her baby on a remote Irish island.
