Collection
F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women
37 items
F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women presents a varied series of stories told through the prism of the female gaze. The films are drawn from collections preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. The F-rating, which tags films written or directed by women, is used by exhibitors such as the IFI to promote films that fairly represent women on screen and behind the camera. This collection brings together 36 films made by Irish women over four decades. Many of the films are written by women; all are directed by women. It includes drama and documentary; live action and animation; films made with generous support and films made on a shoestring; films in Irish and films in English (one in Polish, one in Ukranian); independent films that were seen by few, and films that garnered global attention, Academy Awards and BAFTAs.
The short form has traditionally proved more accessible for women filmmakers, and so, despite their underrepresentation in the catalogue of mainstream feature film, women’s stories have been told over the past 40 years. Many of the stories presented here subvert mainstream male-dominated narratives and present alternative perspectives that are fresh and reflective of the lived experience of women in Irish society.
We invite you to explore this powerful collection, which shows the evolution of Irish filmmaking and indeed of Irish society itself, as interpreted by Irish women filmmakers over the past four decades.
Programme notes for the F rated collection have been prepared with the assistance of UCD interns Rachel Cahill and Rebekah Ryan.
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1m 00s
F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women presents a varied series of stories told through the prism of the female gaze. The films are drawn from collections preserved in the IFI Irish Film Archive. The F-rating, which tags films written or directed by women, is used by exhibitors such as the IFI to promote films that fairly represent women on screen and behind the camera. This collection brings together 36 films made by Irish women over four decades. Many of the films are written by women; all are directed by women. It includes drama and documentary; live action and animation; films made with generous support and films made on a shoestring; films in Irish and films in English (one in Polish, one in Ukranian); independent films that were seen by few, and films that garnered global attention, Academy Awards and BAFTAs.
The short form has traditionally proved more accessible for women filmmakers, and so, despite their underrepresentation in the catalogue of mainstream feature film, women’s stories have been told over the past 40 years. Many of the stories presented here subvert mainstream male-dominated narratives and present alternative perspectives that are fresh and reflective of the lived experience of women in Irish society.
We invite you to explore this powerful collection, which shows the evolution of Irish filmmaking and indeed of Irish society itself, as interpreted by Irish women filmmakers over the past four decades.
Programme notes for the F rated collection have been prepared with the assistance of UCD interns Rachel Cahill and Rebekah Ryan.
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27m 00s
‘Who needs a pregnant waitress?’ is just one of the questions that fills Ellie Connolly’s mind when she discovers she is pregnant in 1980s Ireland.
Statistic was made by film student Alison Kelly in 1983, the year which saw the passing of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution Act (which effectively criminalised abortion in most circumstances). Ellie (Edel McCrann) is pregnant as “the result of a drunken screw between two people who hardly knew each other”. She broods in her flat and discusses her predicament with her good friend Anne – she must tell her boyfriend Paul but she knows ’In the end it’s inside me, not him’. She finds information in a magazine about abortion services in the UK and Anne accompanies her to the ferry – following the footsteps of the many women before her.
Statistic is invaluable as a contemporaneous response to events in 1983 – the film includes newspaper headlines and filmed sequences of pro and anti-abortion marches and dramatizes the plight of a young woman dealing with a crisis pregnancy. It is also a vivid record of the sights and sounds of Dublin in the 1980s - not least in the colourful cameos from mime artist Raymond Keane and indie band The Cuba Dares.
This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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15m 00s
In 1985, two teenagers break into a cinema at night to watch the comical story of a woman waiting impatiently for her boyfriend to return home from the pub.
The man’s actions cause utter chaos upon his return home to their apartment. Despite his inebriation he decides to climb, half-naked, out of bed and under the sink to fix a dripping tap. A curious cat surprises him with its attentions causing him to accidentally knock himself out. His long-suffering girlfriend calls an ambulance and, relieved to hear he’ll be alright in the morning, allows herself a little laugh as he is carried off still drunk, still naked, for a night in hospital.
This idiosyncratic short film provided a vehicle for the fledgling directorial talents of Trish McAdam, and for a large and impressive cast of young actors including Jack Lynch, Pom Boyd, Mannix Flynn, and a young Aidan Gillen (as Aidan Murphy).
This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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5m 00s
Paying homage to her experimental contemporary Jack Smith, Vivienne Dick juxtaposes two quite different London landscapes.
The film’s opening sequence is documentary in style, capturing people basking in the sunshine of a London Park to the sound of Lol Coxhill singing Two Little Pigeons. Men are sunbathing, women are dancing, and older couples are feeding the ducks. The second half of the film introduces two eccentric characters pottering about and having tea in the old Beckton Gas Works, a surreal urban landscape of monolithic ruins, mangled metals and wildflowers to the mesmeric strains of Martin Denny’s lounge music.
Vivienne Dick is an influential, experimental feminist director who often questioned gender, women’s place in the world and social conformity in her work. In Two Little Pigeons, which she filmed and edited, she explores how social deviation is perceived as dystopian and dangerous. This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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15m 00s
Twenty-three-year-old Una (Gabrielle Reidy) is pregnant – perhaps by immaculate conception?
This independent young woman zips about on her motorbike, cheerfully visiting her mammy and younger siblings in the country before returning to her busy social life in Dublin, preoccupied with her pregnancy and determined to find a father for her unborn child. She and her future child, Regina, muse fancifully in voiceover about her pregnancy, the Virgin Mary (“the first surrogate mother”) and the concept of immaculate conception.
Fruit 15 is experimental in form and in concept as it playfully alludes to weighty themes relating to women’s experience in 1990’s Ireland and to the changing status of the Catholic Church. Claire Lynch showed remarkable promise with this, her DLCAD graduate film. The film provides great insight for those who may not have lived through this period – and a vivid reminder for those who did.
Fruit 15 won many awards including the Fuji Award for most Promising Direction. Claire Lynch tragically died in a house fire while attending the Cork Film Festival 1993 where the film was screened.
This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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15m 00s
A fictional story of a young woman who unexpectedly returns home to Dublin for Christmas. She has been in London for ten months but reveals little about her new life.
Sandra feels alienated from her family and they are clearly resentful about her sudden and unannounced return. The atmosphere is laden with tension, in stark contrast to traditional depictions of happy families at Christmastime, a contrast which is underscored by the harmonious sounds of Cantique and The Voice Squad. Sandra is reminded of the difficulties which forced her to leave home. Faced with renewed hostility, she chooses not to disclose the truth of her new life and after a brief and unhappy stay, she returns to London and a life of grinding hardship.
This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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22m 00s
While on her way to confess a secret to her husband in prison, a woman reflects on the recent years in her life.
Set in Belfast during the Troubles, newlywed Sheila Molloy is awoken suddenly one morning when her husband is arrested and sent to prison for 20 years. From then on, her life is changed forever, and she struggles to come to terms with her new situation. Sentenced to a solitary life , Sheila attempts to redefine her identity. She begins an affair with another man and must choose whether to remain loyal to her husband.
The Visit sheds light on the emotional turmoil for families and wives of political prisoners during this period of unrest in Northern Ireland.
This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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22m 00s
A children’s game of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ transforms into a reality through the vivid imagination of little Majella McGinty.
Life becomes too stressful for 8-year-old Majella and taking refuge she hides in a suitcase in her parents’ bedroom. She overhears their conversation, and her TV-addled imagination runs away with her when she believes her father has been murdered by her mother and his body bundled away under cover of darkness.
The Case of Majella McGinty shows the fantastical imagination of young children. This film combines the comical with the political, as it explores the impact of violence on children’s lives. Set in 1970’s Derry, violence is rife, bombs can be heard in the distance and the army patrols the streets where Majella and her friends play.
This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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17m 00s
Day One comically documents receptionist Jody’s eventful first day at her new job.
Writer Margaret Moggan conjures all the anxiety and nervous excitement of a young woman’s first day at her new job in a small property firm. In her desperate attempt to impress her boss, Jody (Pauline Hutton) finds herself holding up a busy coffee queue, embarrassing herself in front of the telephone service provider and causing surly Siobhán to choke on her pie. However, the one thing she is equipped with is her undeniable charm and cheerful personality which endears her to all those she meets and sees her through whatever life throws at her. This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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3m 00s
Women of all ages are celebrated in this masterfully- aligned gallery of portraits. Opening with a quotation from feminist intellectual Simone de Beauvoir: ‘one is not born a woman, one becomes one’, this arresting compendium of portraits presents a boldly female gaze – in both the gaze of director Emer Reynolds and in the frank to-camera gaze of the women who are her subjects. More than 60 headshots of women are presented from infancy to old age, alone and in clusters, friends, sisters, mothers and daughters, within a perfectly paced three minutes.
This film was one of the Irish Film Board’s (now Screen Ireland’s) Short Shorts Films Series, designed to promote ingenuity in creating mini-narratives. Emer Reynolds, now an internationally renowned feature director (The Farthest, Song for While I’m Away), then an esteemed film editor, packs her three minutes with heft and beauty.
This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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10m 00s
Pluck is director Neasa Hardiman and writer Emma Donoghue’s humorous take on how one little hair can create big problems in a marriage.
When Liz’s husband Joe spots a hair growing out of her chin, he is repulsed. He becomes increasingly tormented by hair while reading to his daughter, cleaning the bathroom and watching the adverts on TV. When his hallucinations begin to spiral out of control, he goes to great lengths to get to the root of the problem.
Despite the comedic tone, the film challenges gender norms – Joe is the primary caregiver in the home, Liz has a demanding job – and raises interesting questions about male expectations of female beauty. This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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19m 32s
A neglected and overworked housewife reaches her record-breaking point.
Attempting to break a world record, mother and wife Clare is determined to live in a tree for 32 days. In her absence, her reluctant husband is forced to take on the heavy burden of her domestic duties. Meanwhile, despite the obstacles of torrential rain, loneliness and missing Coronation Street, Clare ploughs gamely on. But as she proceeds towards her goal, the strains on her marriage are beginning to show.
This humorous film, written and directed by Audrey O’Reilly, explores traditional gender roles and demonstrates the value of an occasional shake-up. This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
With kind permission of Edwina Forkin.
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7m 00s
A documentary exploring the romantic and artistic relationship between two trapeze artists.
Trapeze artists Ken Fanning and Tina Segner perform a series of breath-taking feats in the air as they reflect on their relationship and the profound physical and emotional trust that their partnership demands.
This is not your traditional love story: boy meets girl; they fall in love with each other and with the trapeze; girl meets somebody else; trust is undermined. Following the break-up and an accidental fall, trust and emotions are tested. But the pair continue working closely together perfecting their act.
Róisín Loughrey’s DLCAD graduate film delicately interweaves the frank reflections of the artists with Kate McCullough’s black and white cinematography (see more of McCullough’s work in Home).
Fall into Half Angel won many awards and was screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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12m 10s
A beautiful baby boy is born to an overjoyed mother. There is just one problem – his head is on backwards.
Cúilín Dualach is the comedic yet inspirational tale about a young boy who lives a happy life but is not always accepted by those around him. He is the apple of his mother’s eye, but his father is embarrassed by him and shows him little affection. In a bid to win over his father he competes in the National Swimming Championships and wins gold. However, he is disqualified due to his condition and his medal is revoked. Cúilín isn’t too bothered as he has achieved his real purpose and goal in life: the love and pride of his father. This heart-warming animation teaches us to accept and celebrate our differences rather than judging them.
Directed by Nora Twomey, whose work on later features, The Secret of Kells and The Breadwinner, earned Academy Award nominations.
This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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9m 00s
Margaret Corkery’s debut film presents a series of vignettes of sunseekers whiling away the afternoon on a rocky Cork beach.
Four young women arrive for an afternoon’s sunbathing on the beach, their movements perfectly synchronise as they rotate on their towels; a little girl potters about with a bucket under the casual supervision of her mother and a group of hardy women enjoy a bout of water aerobics. The sunbathers’ peace is punctured by the lascivious attentions of a young boy and by the showboating of two young men and their football. A haunting score hints at the menace over-shadowing this sunny afternoon.
The film has won many prestigious accolades including Best Short Film ‘Gold Moon of Valencia’ at Cinema Jove in Spain. This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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16m 00s
Joyriders captures the powerful impact of grief on a young girl’s imagination.
In Dublin’s industrial wastelands, pre-teen Kylie drives around in a stolen car with a young companion who she has conjured from her troubled imagination. At home her younger brother loses himself in video games. Her grieving mother is distant and unaware of Kylie’s illegal escapades until a young Guard finds her alone at night in the car, apprehends her and brings her home. He is lenient in his caution as he acknowledges that the family has been through a difficult time.
Rebecca Daly’s film is a about a young girl trying to deal with a terrible loss. Though grounded in a bleak urban reality, the film is pleasingly enigmatic and infused with the magical possibility of connection with other worlds.
This is the debut film by director Rebecca Daly who would go on to make the features The Other Side of Sleep, Mammal and Good Favour.
Joyriders won many awards including Best First Irish Short at the Galway Film Fleadh and the IFTA for Best Short Film. This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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9m 00s
A heart-warming tale of a young girl’s encounter with Princess Grace of Monaco on her visit to Ireland in 1961. Marion agus an Banphrionsa shows that for a lucky few, dreams can come true.
Courageous Marion steps in front of Princess Grace’s car as it drives through her village. She presents her with a bunch of roses , and the Princess embraces her in her arms. In adulthood, Marion realises a lifelong dream and travels to the Principality of Monaco to experience the magical meeting again.
This tale reveals how a seemingly small childhood encounter can have a lifelong impact just as a visit to the country of her forebears made a lasting impression on Princess Grace. The film interweaves archival footage from the 1961 royal visit with dramatized sequences of Marion’s story and footage of modern-day Monaco.
This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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4m 00s
An enigmatic tale of a young girl determined to participate in the ritual of First Holy Communion, even if she has to go it alone.
A young girl wakes up in a grim flat, washes herself and dons a white dress, shoes and handbag. She completes her outfit with white ribbons stolen from a shop as she makes her way to the church, alone. Surrounded by other happy communicants and their families, she bravely participates in the ceremony and happily accepts a five euro note from a man in the church grounds.
With great economy, Vanessa Gildea constructs a complex narrative reflecting upon child neglect; poverty; the power of long-held traditions of the Catholic Church and the determination of a young girl to be accepted by the community in the face of great odds.
This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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13m 00s
The story of a girl, her horse and her desperate struggle to overcome the pain of betrayal and sexual assault.
A young girl (Jemma Harris) sits on her majestic white horse driving him faster and faster as she tries to ride beyond her pain. She is hurt and confused by a disturbing encounter with her grandfather (Mick Lally) when they were alone in a farmyard feeding calves and the moment began to take on sinister, sexual undertones.
Director Sonya Gildea is masterful in her understated depiction of the girl’s dawning realisation of betrayal and in her capture of the power of the magnificent animal which mirrors the power of the young girl’s pain and fury. This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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11m 00s
Most children have enough to be worried about on their first day at school, but young African boy Joseph is different from all the other pupils. His arrival attracts the unwanted attention of teacher’s pet Hazel and kings of the playground Christian and Seth.
Adapted from a Roddy Doyle short story, New Boy brings the audience to Joseph’s level on his nerving-wracking first day as he tries to navigate the unfamiliar culture and strange rules of an Irish primary school. Joseph’s new environment is cold and dull in comparison to his home, as his tragic past unfolds in brightly coloured flashbacks. Despite a rocky start, Joseph does find some common ground with his classmates and the future begins to look a little brighter.
Steph Green has subsequently directed the feature film Run and Jump and acclaimed television series including The Americans and Scandal, and received an Emmy nomination in 2020 for her work on Watchmen.
New Boy is part of The Oscar® Collection: A Selection of Irish Academy Award® Nominated Short Films. It was nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Live Action Short Film in 2009.
This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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17m 00s
Shortly after the nuclear Chernobyl disaster in 1986, a father risks his life and returns to his deserted apartment to retrieve his front door.
A family’s world is thrown into turmoil when they are suddenly forced to vacate their apartment block close to the site of the nuclear power plant explosion. They escape the exclusion zone safely, leaving behind all their belongings. However, tragedy follows when their daughter falls ill from the radiation. The father returns to their home under cover of darkness to retrieve his front door – a seemingly bizarre act that reveals itself to be part of a poignant ritual.
Juanita Wilson’s film is based on a memoir by Belarusian journalist Svetlana Alexievich. This adaptation relies little on dialogue but creates mood and authenticity through the film’s locations (Pripyat and Kiev, Ukraine) the use of local actors, and the cinematographer’s sombre, muted palette. The Door is a spare, masterfully crafted work which deservedly secured much praise.
The Door is part of The Oscar® Collection: A Selection of Irish Academy Award® Nominated Short Films. It was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Short Film in 2010.
This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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15m 00s
Residents of rural Ireland reminisce on the joys and sorrows of phone boxes as they become obsolete in the modern world.
When phone boxes were first introduced in Irish villages in the 1920s, there was stern competition between local businesses to have one installed outside their property. The phone box would assume a monumental role in many people’s lives allowing them to stay connected with loved ones and receive all sorts of important news. In Mayo, a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary credit the box for helping to keep their long-distance romance alive. In Donegal, a man laughingly recalls how two women became trapped inside one while trying to wait out a bad storm. A young man nervously calls a maternity hospital for news of his young wife.
Although many of those interviewed admitted they do not use the service anymore, the phone box is a fondly remembered feature of Irish village life. This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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12m 00s
Circus Man paints an inspiring portrait of Ireland’s longest-running family circus and the efforts of ringleader Tom Duffy to ensure its survival.
Directors Jill Beardsworth and Keith Walsh lift the curtains to show that behind the bright lights and laughs of the circus lies drama, family feuds and hardship. Despite being knocked down by life’s challenges, Tom Duffy has bounced back to survive discrimination, bare fist fights and colon cancer and is determined to see his circus through to the very end. To Tom, this is not a sacrifice – it is an honour born of his membership of a circus dynasty that has spanned over two hundred years and eight generations. This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.
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13m 00s
IFTA-winning director Anna Rodgers highlights the plight of those who suffered and died in Dublin’s old psychiatric institutions.
Opening with a quotation from Sebastian Barry’s novel The Secret Scripture, in which the main character is a resident in a Roscommon mental institution, the film takes us on a haunting tour of a vast and desolate building, once an Irish asylum. The voices of former residents describe their experience recounting their loneliness and suffering, and the harsh practice of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Their recollections reveal how people were committed and shed light on the social, economic and political factors that lead to their admission. The decision to feature voices and not faces allows the residents to maintain their anonymity.
This film won the IFI’s Best Short at the Stranger Than Fiction Awards (now IFI Documentary Festival) and Best Documentary at the Kerry Film Festival in 2010. This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women.