Samson Films are thrilled to have three of our shorts presented at the Film Fleadh this year. Helping to craft these shorts is always a highlight for the Samson team and it's wonderful to see these emerging creative’s dreams come to life on screen.
Samson will have two shorts premiering in Galway, 'Nay Day' and 'One More Round'. Both of these stories highlight the vulnerability and struggles of being a woman in our modern landscape.
We are also pleased to share that 'The Painted Man' will continue its festival run around Ireland in featuring at Galway as well. Dan Colley's 'The Painted Man' premiered at Fastnet this year and was shortlisted for 'Best Arthouse Film' in Cork.
Here's a little overview of each of them...
NAY DAY
Nay Day is a dramatic thriller that centres around an eccentric teenager, Naomi (Florence Adebambo) who is very vocal about her ambitions of becoming a TikTok star. Through her monologue, insights into her family life are revealed as a single child of a narcissistic father, a heavily religious mother, and her first memory of true friendship with her best friend, Orla (Flavia Zelle). But as the narrative unfolds, we begin to sense that there’s something peculiar about our protagonist and perhaps looks can be deceiving in a world of social media, crime, and systemic injustices.
Nay Day was written and directed by Derek Ugochukwu who shared with us that he's "delighted for the premiere at the prestigious Galway Fleadh. It's hands down one of my favourite festivals and there's always a great support and celebration of filmmakers at different stages in their careers. An incredible honour to be selected this year!"
When discussing the themes of the short he stated, "I chose to write about this as a response to a world where men's violence against women has become rife. The story was triggered by real societal issues that happen all around us on a daily basis. My goal as the writer was to thread some manner of justice of a menacing reality through the unconventional lens of a second-generation vigilante character, Naomi." Notably, Florence Adebambo who plays Naomi in the film has been shortlisted for a Rising Star Award this year in Galway.
Nay Day was supported by the DLR First Frames Scheme.
ONE MORE ROUND
One More Round is a dramatic short that was written and stars Lauren Larkin as Amy. Larkin plays a distressed wife struggling to get pregnant through multiple attempts of IVF. Worst of all, while Amy and her husband Darren (Lloyd Cooney) are having difficulties conceiving, it seems like all of their friends are easily starting families of their own. In this, we see the socio-economic pressure put on couples to reproduce and the impact it has on their relationships.
The short was directed by seasoned actor Barry O'Connor's and has Natalie Britton a producer. One of the highlights of shooting this film was ensuring there were out of the crew of 33 people, 23 of them were women. On the set, there were women in every department, including camera and lighting. Seeing as historically film has been male dominated, it was important to us to ensure that women were getting equal opportunities to work on the film. With this Natalie Britton shares, "Inclusivity and diversity on set is of the utmost importance to me as a producer. It is at the forefront of any decision I make and anyone who has worked with me ."
"Women are natural collaborators, communicators, problem solvers and helpers. Which is exactly what is required from a crew."
-Natalie Britton
"There is a wealth of talented women in Ireland behind the camera and I’ve seen time and time again how sets benefit from their presence. Women are natural collaborators, communicators, problem solvers and helpers. Which is exactly what is required from a crew." She concludes, " I was blessed with an incredible crew who all contributed to making the film as great as it is and I’m immensely proud of the team."
One More Round was funded by Screen Ireland's Focus Shorts Scheme.
THE PAINTED MAN
Following its premiere at the Fastnet Film Festival, 'The Painted Man' will feature in the Galway Film Fleadh. The Painted Man details the encounter of two unlikely friends who find that they are kindred spirits from a past life.
Samson recently chatted with writer-director Dan Colley about his latest project, which you can read about here!
The Painted Man was supported by the Kildare Bursary Fund and Creative Media.
Samson is thrilled to kick off the summer season in Galway with these three amazing shorts!
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