- Culture
- 08 Aug 18
Troubles drama A Mother Brings Her Son to Be Shot has been described by Screen International as “fascinating and gutsy” and RTE as “shocking but unexpectedly humorous.
Filmed over five years by renowned journalist Sinead O’Shea (Al Jazeera English, Channel 4, The Irish Times, The New York Times, The Guardian), A Mother Brings Her Son to be Shot focuses on how in 2012, Majella O'Donnell took her teenage son Philly to a laneway near to her home to be shot in the legs by local gunmen.
Majella, her son and the gunmen are part of the dissident community in Derry, Northern Ireland, one who post-Troubles do not accept the government or police. To them, the war is not over, even if family life continues.
In the absence of a normal relationship with the police, dissident Republicans step in to combat a perceived drug epidemic with their own form of justice. The film analyses the agonising choice Majella was faced with: cooperate with a punishment shooting or risk even worse consequences for her son.
The film is produced by Oscar nominated director Joshua Oppenheimer (The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence). Following sold out screenings at festivals across the world, A Mother Brings... is set for nationwide Irish and Northern Irish release on September 14.
For those living in Dublin, there will be a Q&A with O’Shea after the Opening Night screening on the September 14 at the Light House Cinema, Dublin. Tickets are available here.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, Belfast audiences can enjoy a Q&A with the filmmaker in the Queen's Film Theatre, September 15. Tickets for the screening can be found following this link.
Watch the trailer below.