After a successful tour of international festivals, Nessa Hardiman’s short film ‘Olive’ returns to Irish audiences with two scheduled screenings in Dublin over the coming weeks.
‘Olive’ is an exploration of a young girls discovery of her sexuality. The film colourfully portrays her fantasy of a glamourous adult life. The soundtrack includes music from The Buzzcocks, The Undertones, Iggy Pop and The Thrills.
Actress Isabel Claffey, who at twenty five plays a character nine years younger than herself, says “This girl has a lesbian experience, but I’m not sure that makes her exclusively lesbian. She’s only discovering her sexuality – I’d say she has a world of adventure before her now that she has found a way into adulthood.”
‘Olive’ is the third short film by writer / director Neasa Hardiman, a former RTÉ television producer who cut her teeth on productions like ‘Fair City’ and ‘The Eurovision Song Contest’. Neasa is now developing three feature projects, supported by the Irish Film Board and the Arts Council.
‘Olive’ was the only Irish film (and that includes features) selected for the prestigious Berlinale and for the International Film Festival Rotterdam. It’s over ten years since an Irish short was selected for both festivals. It’s most recent screening was in Los Angeles it has also been shown in the prestigious Sydney and Toronto film festivals.
The film will be shown as part of the Stella Artois Diversions festival on the 24th of July in Meeting House Square and on the
30th of July in the IFC as part of Outlook, Dublin’s Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. The film will then travel to the UK after its Dublin screenings.
