Peaches

Director: Nick Grosso

Year: 2000

Nick Grosso's award-winning play Peaches, produced by the Royal Court in association with the National Theatre Studio in 1994, launched the career of one of Britain's most promising new playwrights. Grosso now dons the director's hat with this adaptation of the play for the big screen, an ordeal that took some six years to realise. Exploring the identity crisis afflicting so many young 1990s men, the story revolves around sex-obsessed Frank and his student friends. From a Leeds college bar to the pubs of North London, their emotional adventures are charted in the seemingly nonchalant and comically-hip language of confused and hapless twentysomethings. Frank's summer as a carefree slacker looks rosy until his best friend starts a job scheme. Then, when his other mate moves in with a girl and a college sweetheart tells him a big secret, Frank's world starts to spin out of control. The film was inspired by Grosso's own personal philosophy when, as a student, life "wasn't about work, but about getting up in the morning -- about chicks and babes. Work was just a distraction". Besides Grosso's status as a voice of his generation, the film's saleability rests on its two stars, Matthew Rhys and Kelly Reilly. The former is an up-and-comer whose credits include the soon-to-be-released Sorted and Titus, the latter was recently seen in Ben Elton's Maybe Baby, and both have starred alongside Kathleen Turner in the West End stage version of The Graduate. Shot with backing from a mix of private equity finance and the Irish Film Board, the film will be offered to agents and distributors in the autumn.

Director: Claire Molloy

Year: 2026

A drama set in rural England amidst the backdrop of World War II exploring themes of identity, belonging, and the impact of war on personal lives - highlighting the human capacity for both empathy and cruelty in times of crisis. Martha, an 11-year-old mixed-race girl, is evacuated from London to the northern English countryside. Martha finds herself in the care of a gruff gamekeeper and his family. Feeling isolated and rejected due to her racial background and the community’s war-induced tensions, she tries to adapt to her new life, becoming captivated by the natural beauty of the countryside. Martha forms a secret friendship with Enzo, an Italian POW, whose gentle demeanour and shared sense of displacement draw them together. Martha also navigates a complex relationship with George, the gamekeeper's son, who is torn between his familial prejudices and his growing fondness for Martha.

Director: Ryan Pollock

Year: 2025

Set in the decaying housing estate of Gowkthrapple and based on a true story, Gowk follows a young boy as he begins to uncover a painful family secret. His mother’s sudden absence casts a shadow over the household, while his father, unable to express his own suppressed pain, keeps the truth of the incident buried. As the boy begins to realise the emotional weight of his family’s past and the fragility of its present, he navigates a world of unspoken truths and generational wounds. The film explores the cyclical nature of family bonds, the struggle to connect across generations, the impact of inherited trauma, and the beginnings of a premature loss of innocence.