Project Detail

A Mother Brings Her Son to be Shot

Synopsis

One night Majella O'Donnell took her teenage son Philly to be shot in both legs. Majella, Philly and his shooters all live within an extraordinary community in Derry, Northern Ireland. The “Troubles” officially ended in 1998 but they are still at war. They do not accept the government or police.
All this happens within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.
How do you bring your son to be shot? What happens afterwards? How does family life continue? How does a community respond? When do wars really end? For five years Sinéad O’Shea has filmed this shocking but darkly humorous portrait of a post conflict society.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2017 - World premiere

Details

Year
2017
Type of project
Features
Running time
84 mins
Director
Sinéad O'Shea 1st Feature
Producer
Ailish Bracken, Sinead O'Shea, Figs Jackman
Executive Producer
Joshua Oppenheimer, André Singer, Katie Holly, Edward Dallal, Kieron J. Walsh, Eddie Doyle, Lesley McKimm, Niamh O'Connor
Editor
Enda O'Dowd
Screenwriter
Sinéad O'Shea
Director of Photography
Richard Kendrick, Ross McDonnell, Enda O'Dowd, Sinéad O'Shea, Paddy Stevenson
Sound
Killian Fitzgerald Re-recording Mixer, Sound Editor and Dubbing Mixer, Sound Editor : Killian Fitzgerald
Composer
George Brennan
Film image
© Blinder Films and SOS Productions Limited

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Ireland, UK coproduction

A Blinder Films (IE), Spring Films (UK) production

Sales Company

Cat & Docs

Catherine Le Clef
18, Rue Quincampoix
75004 Paris
France

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Mr. Nobody Against Putin Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Director: David Borenstein (director), Pavel Talankin (co-director)

Year: 2025

A Russian teacher secretly documents his small town school's transformation into a war recruitment center during the Ukraine invasion, revealing the ethical dilemmas educators face amid propaganda and militarization. Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2025 - World premiere Official Selection CPH DOX 2025 Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2025 BAFTA Awards 2026 - Winner - Best Documentary Academy Awards 2026 - Winner - Best Documentary Feature

A Few Moments of Happiness (Quelques instants de bonheur) A Few Moments of Happiness (Quelques instants de bonheur)

Director: Shaden Safieddine Tazi

Year: 2026

A young Lebanese filmmaker in Paris watches Lebanon's war unfold on her phone from bed. In a state of paralysis, barely able to get out of bed, she calls her father everyday and begins recording her digital life. Using screen recordings, family voices, and silences, the film intimately portrays a generation witnessing their homeland's destruction remotely. Official Selection Venice International Film Festival 2026 - World premiere

Test Track (Tesztpálya) Test Track (Tesztpálya)

Director: Lydia Cornett

Year: 2026

At dawn in Western Hungary, 14-year-old Hunor and his family use greyhounds to clear wildlife from ZalaZONE, a cutting-edge autonomous vehicle test track. Their traditional methods serve an increasingly militarized future. Official Selection Venice International Film Festival 2026 - World premiere