Emily Watson has received the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance for her role in Small Things Like These, starring Cillian Murphy.
Emily Watson (God’s Creatures) has received the award for Best Supporting Performance at the Berlin International Film Festival for his role as Sister Mary in Small Things Like These, in which she stars opposite Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer). The film opened the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this month.
Set in an Irish town in 1985, Small Things Like These follows coal and timber merchant Bill Furlong in the lead up to Christmas, as he struggles with his conscience and the fear of standing up to church powers upon discovering the local convent’s treatment of unmarried mothers and their babies. The film is based on the novel of the same name by author Claire Keegan, whose novella Foster was adapted for the screen as An Cailín Ciúin.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Watson said: "I had a front-row seat watching Cillian Murphy unravel, and it was truly a privilege. He had a dream that I was going to be in the movie, and here I am."
Murphy and Watson are joined in the cast by Eileen Walsh (The Golden West), Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones), Ciarán Hinds (Kin), and Zara Devlin (Ann).
The Irish-Belgian production is directed by Tim Mielants (Patrick) from an adapted screenplay by Enda Walsh (Disco Pigs). Mielants and Walsh are both frequent collaborators of lead actor Cillian Murphy. Mielants and Murphy previously worked together on series three of Peaky Blinders, and Murphy has starred in a number of Walsh's plays including Misterman and Grief Is The Thing With Feathers.
The film was produced by Murphy and Alan Moloney for Big Things Films along with Catherine Magee. Matt Damon and Drew Vinton produced the film with executive producers Ben Affleck, Kevin Halloran, and Michael Joe for Artists Equity. The film was financed by Artists Equity and Screen Ireland, and co-produced in Belgium by Wilder Content. FilmNation Entertainment is handling international sales.
A theatrical release date is yet to be announced for Small Things Like These.
