Derry Girls actor Nicola Coughlan is set to lead Love And War, a film based on a true story from IFTA-winning director Lisa Mulchay and IFTA-winning screenwriter Elisabeth Gooch.
Adapted from the book Stolen: Escape From Syria by Louise Monaghan with Yvonne Kinsella, Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton, Derry Girls) will star in Love And War. The upcoming film is directed by Lisa Mulcahy and written by Mulcahy and Elisabeth Gooch, the award-winning duo behind Lies We Tell. Mulchay recently received the IFTA for Best Director for Lies We Tell, and Gooch received the IFTA for Best Script Film. Gooch’s screenplay for Lies We Tell was her first produced screenplay.
Based on real events, Love And War will follow Irish woman Sarah O’Meara’s struggle in September 2011 to rescue her six-year-old daughter who was abducted by her father, and smuggled to his native Syria, during the country’s ongoing civil war. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that O’Meara’s greatest challenge will not be surviving, but finding a way to outwit her ex-husband, and former abuser.
Michael Garland (Dark Lies The Island) will produce Love And War for Grand Pictures.
Speaking about the project, then titled ‘Stolen’, in an interview with IFTN about Lies We Tell, Mulcahy said: “I’m developing a feature film called Stolen with my husband, who is a producer. It's based on a true story about an Irish woman whose ex took their daughter to Syria after the war had started, and she had to go to Syria to get her daughter back. It’s an incredible story. So that will be my next feature film.”
Coughlan has previously been IFTA-nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Drama for Bridgerton, and received the IFTA Award for Rising Star in 2021.
