International Women’s Day: Three Female-Directed Irish Films to Look Forward To
Posted: 8th March 2023
International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
Screen Ireland is proud to celebrate on this special day a selection of upcoming projects created by bright Irish female talent which will be released on cinema screens across Ireland over the course of the next few months.
A mother’s inner turmoil in Co. Donegal - God’s Creatures
Fresh from its Irish Premiere as the Opening Gala of this Dublin International Film Festival, Saela Davis & Anna Rose Holmer’s God Creatures is a quietly devastating drama set on the coast of Ireland. In a windswept fishing village, a mother is torn between protecting her beloved son and her own sense of right and wrong. A lie she tells for him rips apart their family and close-knit community in this tense, sweepingly emotional epic.
The film premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight and includes a strong crew of female Irish and international talent, including producer Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly through her company Nine Daughters, lead actresses Emily Watson and Aisling Franciosi, editors Jeanne Applegate and Julia Bloch, as well as costume designers Joan Bergin and Lara Campbell.
God’s Creatures picked up five nominations at the 2022 BIFA and was released widely in the United States by A24 last year. Volta Pictures is partnering with BFI Distribution to release the film this month, with Volta Pictures releasing the film in Ireland first, on 24th March 2023, and BFI Distribution will take it to UK cinemas a week later on 31st March.
The film was developed with the support of A24, BBC Film, Screen Ireland and the Western Region Audiovisual Producers Fund/WRAP.
A story of Irish resistance – Pray for Our Sinners
Pray for Our Sinners documents filmmaker Sinéad O’Shea’s return to her hometown in Navan in search of those who fought against the Catholic Church and discovers the ways in which local people found a way to resist. The film was introduced to the world last September, when it was officially selected for the 47th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). After making waves across the ocean in 2022, picking up awards for Best Documentary at the Hamptons International Film Festival and Chicago International Film Festival on the way, the film finally made its Irish Premiere this March in advance of its theatrical release next month.
Directed and produced by Sinéad O’Shea, Pray for Our Sinners includes a wide range of female talent amongst its crew, including co-producer Maya Derrington, executive producer Katie Holly, and of course many of the women of Navan who showed acts of quiet resistance through harrowing times which the documentary follows.
BreakOut Pictures will release the film in Irish cinemas on 21st April. The film is proudly supported by Screen Ireland.
A compassionate comedy – Claire Dix’s Sunlight
Sunlight is an emotional heartwarmer about former-addict Leon, who loves his best friend and sponsor Iver more than anything else in the world. Iver is the reason he’s clean and romping about the place like a wild pinball. So, when Iver gets a terminal diagnosis and decides to leave this earth early, Leon’s not about to let him go without a fight - even if it means being a royal pain in the arse.
The film was produced by Blinder Films with funding from Screen Ireland’s POV Female Creative Talent Scheme, with director Claire Dix, writer Ailbhe Keogan and producer Roisin Geraghty at the helm of the project. Further female talent includes Lauren Kelly, the film’s production designer and executive producers Katie Holly and Yvonne Donohoe. Sunlight received its World Premiere at the 2023 Dublin International Film Festival, followed by an International Premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival.
The film is proudly supported by Screen Ireland, with Lesley McKimm and Niamh Fagan as executive producers.
Wildcard Distribution will release the film in UK and Irish cinemas this year.
What to Watch now
There is no need to wait for these anticipated releases to support Irish film and TV created by Irish women. Cinemas across Ireland, including the Light House in Dublin, the Pálás in Galway and the Gate Multiplex in Cork are screening today Sasha King’s documentary Vicky, which depicts Vicky Phelan’s powerful journey while fighting for the truth in one of Ireland’s biggest medical scandals. Limited tickets are available here.
Find more films screening in cinemas near you on this page.
Not feeling like leaving the house today? Plenty of female-directed Irish films and TV are also available to watch at home now, including Kim Bartley’s thrilling documentary Pure Grit, Antonia Campbell-Hughes’ darkly provocative It Is In Us All or Nora Twomey’s Oscar-nominated The Breadwinner.
Find more films and TV to watch at home on this page.
Further female-directed projects to look forward to later this year include Marian Quinn’s Twig, Christine Molloy & Joe Lawlor’s Baltimore, the upcoming TV dramas Northern Lights, Obituary and The Gone, as well as feature documentaries Mrs Robinson, directed by Aoife Kelleher and No Place Like Home, directed by Myrid Carten.
We are proud to support these projects and many more, which can be found in the 2023 Screen Ireland Production Catalogue.