Irish film and director coming to Birmingham

Award-winning Irish director Paddy Breathnach to visit Birmingham with Rosie and Irish Film London.

Following the great success of its previous Irish film tours, Irish Film London is on the road again, partnering with independent cinemas and Irish organisations and screening at Birmingham’s Mockingbird, on Wednesday 13th March.

Written by the acclaimed Roddy Doyle, Rosie will tour each city with its award-winning director Paddy Breathnach, who is best known for films I Went Down and Viva, who will take part in a Q&A after the screenings.

Rosie enjoyed massive critical acclaim and sold-out screenings in Ireland, after its premiere last September at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was subsequently named as one of The Hollywood Reporter Critics’ 25 favourite films from the autumn festivals and went on to win two awards at the 2018 Irish Film London Awards: Best Feature Film, and the Ros Hubbard Award for Acting following Sarah Greene’s show-stopping performance as the lead, Rosie.

The film tells the story of a mother trying to protect her family after their landlord sells their rented home and they become homeless. Finding a room, even for a night, is a tough job and finding somewhere permanent to live is even harder. Within the confines of their car, Rosie (Sarah Greene of Nobel and Rebellion), and John Paul (Moe Dunford of Vikings and Handsome Devil) strive to maintain a loving home while shielding their young family from the reality of the situation around them. Rosie examines how even in times of crises, the love and strength of a family can endure.

The Birmingham screening is being run in partnership with the Birmingham Irish Association. President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins recently visited the Association, and praised their work, including with Tabor House, the homeless shelter they co-founded, which transforms the lives of people experiencing homelessness in the city. He paid tribute to the Association for supporting all members of the Irish community that needed assistance.

Birmingham Irish Association’s Culture and Heritage Project Officer Peter Connolly said “It’s great to work with Irish Film London again, and we couldn’t be happier to do so on this particular film. We were greatly bolstered by the encouragement from the President, and we look forward to joining IFL in bringing such an important and topical film to our community.”

Commenting on the upcoming release, the film’s director Breathnach said, “I’m thrilled that UK audiences will have the opportunity to view Rosie on the big screen. We had some fantastic screenings at the BFI London Film Festival last year and are looking forward to bringing the film back to the UK this March.”

Irish Film London Founder Kelly O’Connor added, “It’s been a pleasure to work with Element Pictures and all our regional partners on getting this tour in motion. Our ultimate goal is to build the awareness of Irish film among audiences here in the UK, while promoting the work of the Irish community and cultural organisations like Leeds Irish Health and Homes or the Birmingham Irish Association. Paddy is such a generous and modest character, despite his exceptional talents, and I can’t wait for our audiences across the UK to meet him.”

Tickets are available here