SHAKES VERSUS SHAV: a madcap puppet film featuring the voices of Colm Meaney as George Bernard Shaw and Derek Jacobi as William Shakespeare, is a new Irish short based on the last play completed by legendary Irish playwright and Nobel Prizewinner, George Bernard Shaw. In a knockabout Punch & Judy style, Shaw himself battles it out with William Shakespeare in a war of words to decide who is the greater writer. Directed by Damian Farrell and Gerry Hoban. 18 mins.
FAIRVIEW PARK: Declan Flynn, a man struggling for self-acceptance, is preyed upon by a gang of self-described ‘Queer-bashers’ in Dublin, 1982. Based on the true story seen as a major catalyst for Ireland’s LGBTQ Pride movement. Directed by Ellie Hodgetts and Aymeric Nicolet. 13 mins.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE GOOD: A young woman is sitting outside a chemist. Her friend has bought her something, handing her a small paper bag. They walk until they find a place to pee by the sea and wait for the result of the test. One friend holds space for the other with gentleness, helping her to find the courage to move forward with integrity. Directed by Annie Ryan. 6 mins.
THE NEW BOY (AN BUACHAILL NUA): When two cop show fanatics are late for school in 1970’s rural Ireland, can an astute new friend save them from a tough dilemma? Directed by Diarmuid Timmons. 13 mins.
ROOM TAKEN: Having just arrived in Ireland, Isaac is part of the rapidly growing unhoused population. One day, while charging his phone in a coffee shop, he meets Victoria, an elderly blind woman. After forgetting her bag in the cafe, Isaac returns it to her. Once inside her home and in desperate need of a place to stay, Isaac sneaks upstairs and begins to live there, unbeknownst to Victoria. This leads to a series of unknown interactions in which Isaac works to stay hidden from a woman who experiences the world through sound. Eventually, a strange bond develops between the two. Directed by TJ O’Grady-Peyton. 18 mins