Award-winning Irish Director Paddy Breathnach to tour across UK with Rosie and Irish Film London
Nation-wide tour coincides with the film’s UK release
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 in Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham. The tour kicks off on Monday 11th March at HOME in Manchester, the city’s centre for international contemporary art, theatre and film, reaching Leeds’s favourite arthouse cinema, the Hyde Park Picture House on Tuesday 12th and Birmingham’s finest independent cinema, The 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.
Each screening is run in partnership with local Irish organisations, including the Irish World Heritage Centre, the Irish Arts Foundation, Leeds Irish Health and Homes and the Birmingham Irish Association.
Head of Culture at the Irish World Heritage Centre Dr. Julie Mullaney said
“We are delighted to collaborate with Irish Film London in bringing a timely and critically important film like Rosie to wider public view. The homelessness crisis in Ireland strikes a big chord in Manchester, wrestling with its own very visible homelessness crisis and Rosie is sure to attract a highly engaged audience.”
Director of Irish Arts Foundation Des Hurley said
“We are delighted to join Irish Film London for this event, particularly as it falls within our Irish History Month. Throughout March 2019, we set out to introduce new audiences to the vibrancy of Irish arts, heritage, culture and history. This film is a beautifully presented, thought provoking portrait of modern Ireland, and an excellent example of the finest cinema that Ireland has to offer.”
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 recent encouragement from our President Michael D. Higgins, who praised our work with homeless shelter Tabor House, 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 said
“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.”
Tour Dates
Manchester: Monday 11th March, 8.35pm at HOME, 2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester M15 4FN. Tickets
Leeds: Tuesday 12th March, 6pm at Hyde Park Picture House, 73 Brudenell Rd, Leeds, LS6 1JD. Tickets
Birmingham: Wednesday 13th March, 7.15pm at Mockingbird Cinema, The Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B9 4AA. Tickets
Rosie will also be screening at select cinemas across the UK from Friday 8th March, after a launch event with Paddy Breathnach and Roddy Doyle at the Kiln in Kilburn on Thursday 7th March. Screening details can be found here: https://www.rosiefilm.co.uk/showtimes
This tour has been made possible by the support of the Irish Embassy in London, the Ireland Funds of Great Britain and Culture Ireland.
Hashtags: #RosieUKTour #IrishFilmLondon #LoveIrishFilm
