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.

Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn

Screening as part of Best of Irish 2023.