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Director
Joe Comerford
Credits
Producer: Lelia Doolan, Writer: Joe Comerford
Principal Cast
Ian McElhinney, Carol Scanlan, Sean Lawlor, Ray McBride
Category
FeatureFirst Wave
Joe Comerford brought his brand of sharp realist cinema to this drama about Reefer (Ian McElhinney), an ex-IRA man who picks up hitch-hiker Teresa (Carol Scanlan), a pregnant woman trying to overcome a drug addiction. Nicknaming her ‘the model’, Reefer takes Teresa back to the trawler where he lives with friends Spider (Sean Lawlor) and Badger (Ray McBride). Shadowy connections to the IRA, and a general lawlessness come to the fore as the makeshift family are forced to turn to crime to make a living. Conflicts and challenges – from IRA hunger strikes to homosexuality – are touched upon as Comerford’s sharp-eyed awareness for political and social nuance remains keen throughout.
76 minutes (re-edited version 2014), Ireland, 1988, Colour
AMERICAN INDEPENDENTS: CLERKS 18.20
ARCHIVE AT LUNCHTIME: BRITISH & IRISH (PROGRAMME 1) 12.50 12.50
CROSSING 13.00, 18.10
HEART OF AN OAK 13.10
LA CHIMERA 15.45
SHAYDA 15.30, 20.30
SLEEP 13.40
THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN 20.50
THE COMMANDANT’S SHADOW 18.30
THE CONVERSATION 50TH ANNIVERSARY 4K RESTORATION 20.40
The IFI is supported by The Arts Council