Lakelands
Following a violent attack on a night out, Cian O’Reilly (Éanna Hardwicke), a promising young Gaelic footballer, sustains a life-changing injury. Cian, a young farmer, had been happy with his lot: working contentedly alongside his father (Lorcan Cranitch) on the farm, partying with friends, and performing well on the pitch. His world is shattered when a serious head injury forces him off the field, and he struggles to reimagine an identity in the small midlands town where GAA is at the beating heart of the community. Some comfort arrives in the shape of an old girlfriend (Danielle Galligan), home from London to nurse her ailing father. Lakelands, the debut feature from writer/directors Robert Higgins and Patrick McGivney – set in their hometown of Granard, Co. Longford – captures the cadence of local banter, and the idiosyncrasies and pleasures of midlands youth culture, celebrating lives that are multifaceted, complex, and as inherently dramatic as they are satisfying.
Winner of Best Irish Film at Galway Film Fleadh 2022 and Best Film at Kerry International Film Festival 2022.
Festivals:
Galway Film Fleadh 2022
Kerry International Film Festival 2022
Glasgow Film Festival 2023
Awards:
Winner - Best Irish Film, Galway Film Fleadh 2022
Winner - The Bingham Ray New Talent Award 2022
Winner – Best Narrative Feature, Kerry International Film Festival 2022
‘A small story about a big event in one man’s life, Lakelands is a carefully tuned, low key piece of cinema with fine work from all involved. ... The direction is assured, the performances spot on.’
★★★★ Jennie Kermode, Eye For Film
‘A sensitive exploration of a young man’s reckoning with his destiny in rural Ireland, Lakelands initially appears to cover some familiar dramatic ground in a seemingly low-stakes narrative, but, in fact, this feels fresh...’
Fionnuala Halligan, Screen International
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