“Normal People” and “Brassic” star India Mullen has stepped behind the camera for her debut short “Lia & Ro” and has lined up an array of Irish talent on screen and off.
The short stars Maya O’Shea (“Blade Runner 2099,” “Verdigris”) and Toni O’Rourke (“God’s Creatures,” “Gangs of London”) as sisters navigating a single, charged summer afternoon in Bray, Ireland.
Benjamin Jacob Smith of RAW Inventive (“Twain,” “A Fox in the Night,” “The Intimacy Coordinator”) produces alongside Finite Films and Worldwhy LLC. Executive producers include Gabriella Kramer Khan, Amy Gardner for Finite Films & TV and Jenna Mack for Worldwhy.
“Lia & Ro” brings together an exceptional Irish creative team, and that level of collaboration inevitably shifts the scale of a project,” said Smith. “Our ambition is to combine emerging voices with collaborators whose work has shaped some of Ireland’s most internationally recognised films, contributing to the wave of Irish cinema that has found such a powerful global voice in recent years.”
Behind the lens, multi-award-winning editor Nathan Nugent (“Room,” Oscar-nominated “The Quiet Girl,” “Normal People”) is cutting the film, while composer Stephen Rennicks (“Frank,” “The Quiet Girl,” “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”) will provide the score. Eoin McLoughlin (“The Ghost of Richard Harris,” visual work for Fontaines D.C.) serves as cinematographer.
Set against the sunlit backdrop of Bray’s seafront, “Lia & Ro” follows Ro as she takes a supervised day trip from a psychiatric hospital with her sister Lia on her 30th birthday. Amid beach crowds, arcade noise and childhood memories, Ro tries to reconnect with her sister and the world she currently feels removed from. As per the description, the film explores “themes of sisterhood and recovery, framed through a quietly observational lens.”
“‘Lia & Ro’ was born out of a conversation about the strange coming-of-age that happens at 30,” said Mullen. “When you’re launched from the frivolity of your 20s and suddenly everyone’s path feels very separate. Some people are buying houses or getting married and others are getting sober or having huge moments of self reflection. I wanted to explore that emotional gap and how lonely mental health recovery can feel amid societal pressures to ‘progress.’”
“Lia & Ro” is currently in post-production.
variety.com
#India #Mullen #Taps #Irish #Talent #Debut #Short #Lia
