ABOUT US | Samson Films

SAMSON FILMS IS A FILM AND TV PRODUCTION COMPANY BASED IN DUBLIN, IRELAND.

2025 has been a landmark year for Samson Films, with four features produced: The Three Urns, Ancestors, One Sweet Hour and Gorky Resort.

An Irish–Polish co-production directed by Łukasz Palkowski, Gorky Resort is a thrilling historical two-hander featuring powerhouse performances from Aidan Gillen and Jakub Gierszal. The Three Urns, meanwhile, is a funny and often moving look at reconnection shot against the stunning landscapes of rural Donegal. Directed by Stephen Warbeck and John-Paul Davidson, it stars Ciarán Hinds, Olga Kurylenko, Stephen Dillane, and Stephen Fry. Both films were warmly received at the 2026 Dublin International Film Festival, where they enjoyed their Irish premieres.

Currently in post-production, Ancestors is a heartfelt, meditative LGBTQ+ drama set in 1980s London featuring Éanna Hardwicke, Jack Wolfe, Jessica Reynolds, Rupert Everett, and Christina Hendricks. Charged with feeling, it marks the directorial debut of exciting Irish filmmaker David Turpin. One Sweet Hour is a tender, musically-inflected road movie starring Gary Lydon and Brían F. O’Byrne as two estranged brothers – one an Elvis impersonator, the other a monk – who reconnect while traversing the canals of the Irish midlands by boat. The film reunites Samson with writer Eugene O’Brien and director Declan Recks, following previous collaborations on the RTÉ drama, Pure Mule, and the Tribeca-winning feature, Eden.

Across 2025, Samson also collaborated on Sibel Guvenc’s coming-of-age environmentalist fable Loya, a Canadian-Croatian-Irish co-production supported by Telefilm Canada and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre and shot in the Turkish countryside, as well as Viko Nikci’s family short The Note, commissioned by RTÉ and the EBU.

Recent theatrical releases include historical art-heist thriller Baltimore, written and directed by Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor (Desperate Optimists) and starring Imogen Poots as heiress-turned-revolutionary, Rose Dugdale. The film marked the third feature collaboration between Samson and Desperate Optimists, screening at Telluride and BFI London Film Festival before winning Best Feature Film Script at the Writers Guild of Ireland Awards in 2024.

Alongside Finland’s Making Movies, Samson produced bittersweet romantic drama My Sailor, My Love, the English-language debut of Golden Globes–nominated director Klaus Härö. The film enjoyed a strong international festival run, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival and winning the Audience Award at the Chicago International Film Festival, before picking up further nominations at the IFTA Awards, BAFTA Scotland, and the Jussi Awards.

Together, these projects reflect Samson Films’ continued commitment to distinctive storytelling, international collaboration, and films that resonate deeply with audiences both at home and abroad.

FILMING IN IRELAND

Ireland has one of the more competitive tax credits in Europe - at 32% on all eligible expenditure in Ireland- with an additional uplift available in certain circumstances for productions shooting in the Irish regions.

Samson Films has considerable experience in utilising these incentives on many of our own projects and also on a wide range of European co-productions- where we integrate these benefits within the various financing requirements of our co-production partners.

Samson also provides occasional and bespoke production services to selected projects where we feel we can add additional value, not only through the Section 481 incentive, but also through our locations expertise built up over many years and our long standing crew relationships at a variety of budget levels.