Projects in genres: Northern Irish

Synopsis

H3 is set in the H-Blocks of the Maze Prison in the North of Ireland during the period, early January 1981 up to the death of Bobby Sands on hunger strike on 5 May 1981. Seamus Scullion is the man chosen to select the names of his fellow prisoners in the H3 prison block who are ultimately prepared to die for what they believe in.

Synopsis

A couple break up briefly (the intermission of the title), sending ripples through the lives of everyone around them. Ripples that become shockwaves as a film-maker teams up with a cop for a journey into violence: a jilted wife plots revenge on her husband; three men team up for a daring kidnap-robbery. These and other stories collide, dovetail and climax in extreme ways, pushing the couple toward a reunion which in turn restores a kind of order.

Synopsis

The shop mannequin sees endless activity that passes for human existence. People fill their time moving, talking, shopping and looking. They gaze listlessly in at him and he stares impassively back. He is aching for their chance to live, imploring them to make the most of their freedom, outraged that they do not.

Synopsis

Armagh Woman's Prison 1980. Based on true events this is the extraordinary story of an unshakeable bond between two very different women. A young girl, a wild child, Aine, is arrested in Belfast and convicted of joyriding. She is, to her horror, placed in the wing of Armagh jail containing protesting political prisoners. In addition to this she is housed in a cell with the leader of the protesters, Eileen. At first, their differences all to obviously come to the fore; the two women can find no common ground and are at war with each other. However, as time progresses Eileen takes pity on Aine, for whom this is a terrifying experience, and helps her come to terms with this new and frightening environment thus saving Aine's sanity. In turn, as their friendship grows and as the protest escalates, Aine risks all to save Eileen's life. Despite their obvious differences, an unlikely friendship emerges. Shot on location in Kilmainham jail, Silent Grace features an exceptional cast, including IFTA Best Actress nominee, Orla Brady (A Love Divided), Cathleen Bradley (About Adam), and with a special appearance by Patrick Bergin (Sleeping with the Enemy).

Synopsis

Two struggling, rather mediocre actors prove the little-known adage that bad actors make great crooks.

Synopsis

a man, no horse, no gun

Synopsis

A native son of north Belfast, award winning playwright, Gary Mitchell, speaks the language of working-class Protestants in the unflinching realist drama that tells the story of the lifelong friendship between two Loyalists blown apart by political change. As The Beast Sleeps is a hard-hitting film about friendship, loyalty and betrayal. The political leadership of the UDA have placed a ban on paramilitary activity which may damage their position in the peace process. The men this affects are the young teams groomed for fighting. For some, the new rules mean a drastic change in lifestyle, a loss of stability and identity. Kyle is caught between loyalty to the UDA and loyalty to Freddie, his best friend. Freddie wants to carry on doing what he was groomed for. They are drawn into conflict when Kyle is reluctantly recruited to head a punishment squad to deal with renegades. When Freddie breaks the ban, personal and political loyalties collide violently. This powerfully-acted BBC film offers a sombre reflection on the peace process.

Synopsis

On 30th January 1972, British soldiers shot dead 13 unarmed civilians taking part in a civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland. The event, Bloody Sunday, was a major turning point in the history of the modern Irish troubles, catapulting a low intensity conflict into a civil war, driving many young men into the ranks of the IRA and fuelling a 25 year cycle of violence. This film tells the story of Bloody Sunday in just one day from dawn to dusk, from the arrival of thousands of troops on the streets of the besieged city to the violent collision between soldiers from the crack Paratroop Regiment and the crowds of civilian demonstrators. The film follows the march organisers and the police, British soldiers, as well as civilians from both sides of the religious sectarian divide. It focuses in particular on the stories of two young men: Ivan Cooper, an idealistic Civil Rights leader, a Protestant in a Catholic camp, who shares Martin Luther King's dream of peaceful change; and Gerry Donaghy, a 17 year old Catholic rebel, who yearns to settle down and marry his Protestant girlfriend, but who is drawn into violent confrontation with the soldiers.

Synopsis

Boxed is a powerful drama set in present-day Northern Ireland. The story centres on Father Brendan, a young Catholic priest fresh from Seminary, full of idealistic beliefs and faith. After a difficult discussion with his mentor, Father Moran, a cynical and bitter priest, Father Brendan is collected outside his church by a young man who mistakes him for Father Moran. He is taken to an isolated house where an IRA group is holding a suspected informer awaiting execution. The priest is expected to hear the informers' last confession but refuses to go along with this and locks himself in a room with the victim, threatening to expose the IRA members. The terrorists are now faced with the possibility of having to kill a priest, a decision none of them can take. One of the group is dispatched to get clearance from higher up but whilst waiting for word cracks start to appear within their ranks and the characters find themselves having to confront their motives and question their faith. With an ensemble cast of award-winning established actors and exciting new comers, Boxed is a gripping and moving drama that controversially explores the questions of religion, violence, politics and faith.

Synopsis

The Magdalene Asylums in Ireland were run by the Sisters of Mercy on behalf of the Catholic Church. Young girls were sent there by families or orphanages and once there, were imprisoned and sent to work in the laundries where they could atone for their sins. Their sins varied from being unmarried mothers to being too pretty, too ugly, simple minded, too clever or being a victim of rape and talking about it. And for their sins they worked 364 days a year unpaid, they were half starved, beaten, humiliated, raped, their children forcibly removed from them. Their sentence was indefinite. Thousands of women lived and died there. The last Magdalene Asylum in Ireland closed in 1996, five years ago. This film is from the point of view of four of these young women in the 1960s, an era mistakenly seen by some as a time of unchallenged female liberation. These young Catholic women find themselves in an almost medieval nightmare whilst the outside world tacitly (or in some cases actively) supports a theocratic state. It looks at how their personalities develop for better and for worse in an environment controlled and dominated by celibate women, servants of God, Brides of Christ. In their own ways the girls refuse to be beaten, but what victory is there if they remain imprisoned as little more than slaves? One gets out in a heartbreakingly banal fashion, one is imprisoned in a mental asylum, two finally rebel, run away, escape. It is a fictional film that unfortunately happens to be true.

Synopsis

Liam is growing up in an Irish Catholic quarter of Liverpool in the 1930s, the youngest of three children. While he is at school trying to rid his 7-year-old head of the wicked thoughts that stand between him and the salvation of his immortal soul, his older brother is working, adding his wage packet to the household funds. Their teenage sister also does her part, cleaning for a wealthy Jewish family. Money is tight but the family is a happy one; Liam's mother is caring and devout and his father is a responsible working man, proud to be employed when so many others are not. But hard times have hit the Liverpool docks and Liam's father loses his job. Helpless, embittered and determined to find someone to blame, he joins the local fascists with tragic consequences. This is a child's-eye view of a family's free-fall into poverty during the depression, enriched by the irony and keyhole detail of a small boy's perspective.

Synopsis

Eamonn Manley (Kris Marshall) hasn't much going for him. He's 24, he works in a Dating Agency (Amoré - 'Your Love is Our Affair') and he lives with his Ma. At night he hides in his room, dreaming of superhero adventures, romance and a girl he's too scared to approach. Yet his life takes on a new direction when, after a miraculous encounter with Mary Mallory (Tara Lynn O' Neill), the local good time girl, Eamonn discovers he has the highest sperm count in Ireland. With male fertility rates plummeting around the world Eamonn finds himself in demand. Seduced by the possibility of doing good and a taste of the high life, Eamonn is persuaded by his friend Millicent (Bronagh Gallagher) to start providing a unique service to the good ladies of Belfast. With his new-found confidence, he finally finds the courage to ask out the girl of his dreams. Rosie (Kathy Kiera Clarke) works at the local funeral home and has proved impervious to the approaches of more bullish guys. Entirely unaware of his new profession she finds herself drawn to the innocent, awkward Eamonn. And so begins Eamonn's bizarre double life: Lothario to half the city by day and shy lover to Rosie by night. His life is weirder and more wonderful than he could ever have imagined. Meanwhile the 'most fertile man in Ireland' has come to the attention of the local Protestant hardmen, led by Mad Dog Billy Wilson (James Nesbitt), formerly 'the most-feared and psychotic' paramilitary in Belfast who now finds himself in a world that no longer requires or endorses his services. Aware that the rising birth rate in the Catholic community means the Protestants will no longer be in the majority, he is determined to get Eamonn to even the score.