A24 has released the first trailer for the Donegal-set psychological drama God’s Creatures starring Emily Watson and Paul Mescal.
The feature film, which was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, unites Directors Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer after their award-winning drama The Fits.
Starring Emily Watson and Paul Mescal in the leading roles, God’s Creatures is set in a rain-swept Irish fishing village where a woman’s lies to protect her son have a devastating impact on the community, her family, and herself.
The film is written by Shane Crowley and produced by Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly following her award-winning and critically acclaimed successes Ammonite and Lady Macbeth. A24 has taken worldwide rights and co-financed the film alongside BBC Films, Screen Ireland, and the WRAP Fund with location support from the Donegal Film Office.
Watson’s credits include Chernobyl and BreakingTheWaves, while Mescal recently garnered Emmy and Critics’ Choice Award nods for his role as Connell in Normal People. Aisling Franciosi co-stars, following her award-winning performances in The Nightingale and TV series TheFall, and other cast members include Declan Conlon (Calvary), Marion O’Dwyer (Love, Rosie), and Toni O’Rourke (Wildfire).
Other talent involved include local production manager Maria Mulhall (Lola) and production designer Inbal Weinberg (Beasts of No Nation, Three Billboard Outside Ebbing), editor Julia Bloch (Green Room), and director of photography Chayse Irvin (BlacKkKlansman, Hannah).
The Directors’ previous film The Fits premiered at 2015 Venice Film Festival and played Sundance the following year. It earned Spirit Awards and Gotham Awards nominations and won the Critics Award at Deauville Film Festival.
Mescal also starred in another BBC-backed, Cannes-selected film earlier this year from Scottish debut feature filmmaker Charlotte Wells. Aftersun tells the story of Sophie, who reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father (Mescal). Wells both wrote and directed the project that was selected for the Critics’ Week sidebar at Cannes where it won the French Touch Prize of the Jury.
The Normal People star has found himself well placed within a hugely successful string of BBC-supported productions since he first came to prominence on Element Pictures global hit in 2020 with BBC Films, the feature filmmaking arm of the BBC, also backing both of Mescal’s Cannes-selected projects.
God’s Creatures will be released in cinemas on Friday, September 30th.