Turf - Short Film (2021)
Trailer can be viewed by clicking here
“Following a chance meeting, Niall, a weary Derryman, invites Hamed, a wary Syrian asylum seeker, to join him on a trip to a bog west of the border to cut a load of turf. They form a touching and spontaneous friendship and yet their bond is soon complicated by forces beyond their control, as Hamed’s precarious status as a refugee makes this pleasant journey a serious risk. Finely acted by Micheál McDaid and Fayez Bakhsh and directed with subtle attention to detail by Ara Devine, Turf is a simple but powerful tale about the effect of political borders and barriers on human beings.”
- Belfast Film Festival 2021
Turf
A Derryman and a Syrian asylum seeker spend a day working on a bog with a complicated journey across the Irish border.
Writer/Director: Ara Devine
Producer/Editor: Isabella Djalili-Devine
DOP: Thomas McKeown
Sound: Stevie Lennox
1st AC: Michael Boyle
2nd AC: Colm McGlone
Starring: Micheál McDaid & Fayez Bakhsh
Music: Joel Grainger
Poster: Bahiyyih Devine
Funded by Future Screens NI
A Tiny Speck Productions Film
Screenings
October 2021 - Louth International Film Festival (Winner: Best Short Fiction)
October 2021 - Richard Harris International Film Festival
November 2021 - Belfast Film Festival
November 2021 - Foyle Film Festival (Special Recognition: Debut Irish Short Film)
December 2021 - London Lift-Off Film Festival
February 2022 - Mayo International Film Festival
February 2022 - Rathmullan Film Festival
March 2022 - St Patrick’s Day Film Festival, London
March 2022 - Irish Film From Home, Irish Film Festival London
March 2022 - Difficult Conversations, University of Canberra, Australia
April 2022 - Catalyst International Film Festival
June 2022 - Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny
September 2022 - Disappear Here Film Festival, Donegal
March 2023 - Scéal Eile, Irish Film Festival, Belgium
July 2023 - No Borders, Rich Mix Cinema, London
March 2024 - The People’s Picturehouse, Cork (Nominated: People’s Picture of the Year - Drama)
July 2024 - No Borders, The Garden Cinema, London
Selected for inclusion in Ireland’s Border Culture Digital Archive by Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast: https://borderculture.net/map/
Turf in Ireland’s Border Culture Digital Archive, a project by Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast: https://borderculture.net/map/
