Feature film
Maeve
Pat Murphy and John Davies · 1981
Synopsis
Maeve Sweeney, who went to London for art school, returns to Belfast at the time of the Troubles. She meets again her father Martin, her mother Eileen, her sister Roisin, and the memory of Liam, her former partner, who defended the armed struggle while she maintained that republicanism relegates women. The narrative mixes the present, childhood and school years without signalling the shifts, and sometimes addresses the viewer directly.
Context
Financed by the British Film Institute for less than one hundred thousand pounds, the film is written by Pat Murphy, co-directed and edited by John Davies and photographed by Robert Smith, all three former students of the same London school; it is shot in Belfast with actors and companies from the city. It is the first film from the institute to be shown at Venice, out of competition. Too much against the grain to find its audience at the time, it was restored and re-released in 2021.
Who it is for
A film in English with a fragmented narrative, which addresses the viewer directly and mixes poetry with political discussions.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the first Irish feminist feature film and the first film to be cast and shot in Belfast.