PARTS 1 & 2, OCT 13TH (13.00)

PARTS 3 & 4, OCT 14TH (14.00)

With the success of their first two feature collaborations marking them out as amongst the most assured of Irish film-making talents, RTÉ made an inspired move in commissioning Abrahamson and O’Halloran to produce a four-hour TV mini-series in 2007.

Made at the hubristic heights of the Celtic Tiger, Prosperity’s characteristic focus on marginal lives may seem less surprising from our punctured present, but it was the closest Irish TV or film had come to offering a counter narrative to the dominant ethos of self-congratulation and conspicuous consumption. The title, of course, was ironic and each episode offered a deeply sobering tale of individuals getting by, or sometimes not. Conceived in the tradition of Kieslowski’s Decalogue and Roddy Doyle’s Family, Prosperity offered audiences something to think about as well as emotionally engage with.

These films are screening as part of Focus On Lenny Abrahamson season (October, 6th – 14th).