Irish feature films An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) and About Joan selected for the Berlin International Film Festival
Posted: 15th December 2021
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland is delighted to congratulate the creative teams behind Irish feature films An Cailín Ciúin and About Joan on their selection to the Berlin International Film Festival 2022.
About Joan is a French / German / Irish co-production with Irish production company Blinder Films, directed by Laurent Larivière and starring Isabelle Huppert, Lars Eidinger and Swann Arlaud.
The return of her young love shatters Joan Verra and pushes her to leave Paris for the countryside in a hurry. She needs to revisit the last forty years of her life. She composes a fragmented and noisy picture of her existence. Her son, Nathan, who has suddenly returned from Montreal, accompanies her on this inner journey - a liberating odyssey but one with no return. We all tell ourselves stories.
The Irish-language feature film An Cailín Ciúin will screen as part of the Generation strand which showcases state-of-the-art international cinema that in its narrative and cinematic language, takes young people seriously; stories that are told through the eyes of their young protagonists and which make their worlds tangible.
An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) tells the story of Cáit (Catherine Clinch) - a nine year-old girl from an overcrowded, dysfunctional family who is sent away to live with foster parents for the summer. Despite a warm reception from the woman, Eibhlín (Carrie Crowley), the man of the house, Seán (Andrew Bennett), keeps his distance from Cáit and she from him, but over time, their strained relationship begins to deepen. Slowly, in the care of the Kinsellas, Cáit blossoms and discovers a new way of living. But in this house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one painful truth.
Based on the acclaimed short story Foster by Claire Keegan, An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) is a complex and delicate coming-of-age drama that explores questions of family, neglect and loss through the eyes of its young protagonist.
An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) is the feature film debut of writer/director, Colm Bairéad and producer, Cleona Ní Chrualaoi of Inscéal. The film was funded by Screen Ireland, TG4 and the BAI as part of the Cine4 scheme. It was shot on location in Meath and Dublin last year.
The Berlin screening will be the film’s World Premiere. It is the first Irish-language film to feature at the festival. Speaking on the historic Berlinale selection, Bairéad commented:
"We are honoured and humbled to have been selected for the Berlinale and, in particular, for the Generation strand of the festival. An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) was influenced by several films which have played in this strand over the years, so it feels enormously gratifying to be joining their ranks."
Dearbhla Regan, Project Manager for Film at Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland said:
“We are delighted to congratulate writer/director Colm Bairéad and the creative team behind An Cailín Ciúin on the film’s Official Selection to the Berlin Film Festival. Its World Premiere in Berlin next February will provide an excellent platform to enter the international marketplace and to connect with festival audiences, adding to a new wave of Irish-language filmmaking. An Cailín Ciúin is a very special film and we can’t wait for audiences at home and around the world to see this film next year.”
Alan Esslemont, Director General at TG4 said:
“TG4 congratulates the team at Inscéal behind An Cailín Ciúin on being selected for the Berlin International Film Festival. Drama in Irish has been at the heart of our vision for TG4's audiences and to premiere at Berlin gives recognition to the standard of this film. We are delighted with the success of all Cine4 films to date, both nationally and internationally."
An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) will screen in Berlin in February and hit Irish cinemas in Spring 2022.