International sales agent Charades has acquired international sales rights to Christy, the debut feature from Irish director Brendan Canty. The Cork-set film will have its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival this month, with Wildcard Distribution bringing the film to Irish cinemas later this year.
Starring newcomer Danny Power (The Young Offenders) alongside Diarmuid Noyes (Pure Mule: The Last Weekend, Five Minutes of Heaven), Christy follows two estranged brothers as they grapple with their past and resolve to unite over one summer in Cork city's Northside. The film brings together a talented ensemble cast, including Emma Willis (Vikings, The Young Offenders, Dating Amber), Alison Oliver (Saltburn, Conversations With Friends), Chris Walley (Bodkin, The Young Offenders), and Helen Behan (The Virtues, This Is England '90).
The film also features members of The Kabin Studio, a Cork-based community arts collective known for its work in hip-hop and spoken word. In 2024, The Kabin Crew's viral hit The Spark, recorded in collaboration with Lisdoonvarna Crew, amassed over 1 billion views and was hailed as the "song of the summer" by The New York Times.
Christy is inspired by Canty's acclaimed short film of the same name. His previous work includes the award-winning short For You, starring Barry Keoghan, and the music video for Hozier's Take Me to Church, which has surpassed 1.4 billion views on YouTube.
The film was written by Alan O'Gorman from a story by O'Gorman and Canty and was developed with the mentorship of director Yann Demange (Top Boy, '71, Lovecraft Country), who also serves as executive producer. Christy explores themes of identity, belonging, and the search for family, offering a hopeful and humorous glimpse into contemporary Irish youth culture.
Produced by Marina Brackenbury (Sing Street, Every Day, The Beast Must Die, Prime Target) with Meredith Duff of Wayward Films and Rory Gilmartin (Herself, Rosie, Calm with Horses) of Sleeper Films, Christy was funded by BBC Film and Fis Eireann/Screen Ireland. Executive producers include Niamh Fagan (Screen Ireland), Claudia Yusef (BBC Film), Yann Demange, Thomas Benski (Wayward), and Lee Magiday & Wilf Varvill (Sleeper Films).
