Maeve Murphy

Maeve Murphy is an Irish director-screenwriter. In 2011, as director for her short film Sushi, she won the Sub-ti short film competition, co-judged by Venice Days, Venice Film Festival. In 2020, the Irish Times listed Murphy's Silent Grace as no 38 in their 50 Best Irish Films Ever Made.

Murphy was born in Belfast in Northern Ireland. As a teenager, she was one of the hosts of BBC Northern Ireland's youth TV series Wise Crack. While at Cambridge University, she was the secretary of the Cambridge Footlights and a co-founding member of "Trouble and Strife" theatre company.

Murphy's first short was Amazing Grace, with Aidan Gillen, was screened at the BFI. Her second short Salvage, starring Orla Brady, premiered at the Cork Film Festival.

Silent Grace, was a prison/hunger strike/women's protest drama starring Brady, Cathleen Bradley, Cara Seymour, Patrick Bergin and Conor Mullen. Silent Grace was chosen as UK entry for Cannes for Un Certain Regard Section in 2002. The film screened at the Galway, Moscow Film Festival, Taormina and the Hamptons Film Festival, USA,[10] where it was nominated for the Conflict and Resolution Award in association with the Brizzolara Family Foundation.[11] The film was positively reviewed by Ronnie Scheib in Variety[12] and by Michael Dwyer in the Irish Times.[13] Silent Grace is a fictional drama based on real events, covering the largely untold story of Republican women prisoners’ involvement in the Dirty protests and first Hunger Strikes of 1980/1981. Guerilla Films released it via UGC cinemas in London, Belfast and Dublin in 2004, and it was supported by the Irish Film Board.[14] Silent Grace achieved 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes [15] It was picked up for international online streaming on Hulu and Mubi.[16][17]

On 24 June 2017, 16 years after its film festival premiere and following two articles in the Irish Times about women's voices,[18][19] TV3 gave Silent Grace its Irish nationwide TV première. The Sunday Times made it one of the "Films of the Week." and The Irish Times said "Silent Grace is important".[20] In May 2020, the Irish Times listed Silent Grace as number 38 in their list of the 50 greatest Irish films of all time.[21] In June 2021, the Irish Film Institute put it on their IFI international online collection[22] and BFI Player added it to their Woman with a Movie Camera Collection in 2022.[23]

Beyond The Fire, her second feature film, was about love in the wake of sexual assault starring Cara Seymour and Scot Williams. She won Best UK Feature at the London Independent Film Festival 2009[24] and Best International Feature at the Garden State Film Festival USA 2010.[25] It was selected for the Belfast Film Festival[26] and the ICA New British Cinema season.[27] It was released in cinema by Met Film Distribution and had a London, Belfast, Dublin cinema release, supported by UKFC in 2009[28] and 2010. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said "its heartfelt, unironic belief in the power of love is attractive."[29] There was press controversy about the film in the Irish Independent regarding RTÉ's decision not to acquire it due to the feeling there was "no appetite for the subject matter".[30] Victims of religious sexual abuse expressed their concern. TV3 then stepped in and it was broadcast across Ireland in April 2010[31] and May 2010. In 2011 Beyond the Fire was sold to the BBC for UK TV transmission by Frank Mannion of Swipe Films.[32] It was subsequently broadcast on BBC2 on 22 March 2013 and also made available on BBC iPlayer.[33] It was one of "Best 8 TV Movies of the Week" in The Sabotage Times.[34]

Murphy won the Sub-ti International short film Award 2011 for her comedy drama short Sushi,[35][36] starring Luanna Priestman and Junichi Kajioka.

Taking Stock, starring Kelly Brook and Scot Williams, an austerity comedy caper feature was based on Sushi. It was selected for its UK premiere by the 2015 Raindance Film Festival and for the 2015 Monaco International Film Festival where it won four awards:[37] Independent Spirit Award: Taking Stock directed by Murphy; Best Supporting Actor; Best Producer; Best Cinematography. Taking Stock showed at the 2016 Garden State Film Festival where the film and Murphy and producer Geoff Austin won the Bud Abbott Award for feature-length comedy.[38] The film also showed at the WIND International Film Festival in LA where Murphy won the award for best female director in the comedy section. Also, Junichi Kajioka won the award for best supporting actor.[39] Swipe Films released the film in UK cinemas in 2016.[40] It was on UK/Irl Netflix 2016-2018.

Siobhan was a ghost/rape-revenge 2017 short film written and directed by Murphy. It won the award of excellence in the One Reeler Short film competition in LA [41] and the award for Best Music which was composed by David Long.[42] Film critic Rich Cline in Shadows on The Wall said it was "beautifully shot...its darkly moving. And also eerily provocative."[43]

During 2018-2020 Murphy wrote a feature film screenplay with Victoria Mary Clarke about the life/love story of Victoria and Shane MacGowan.[44]

Murphy wrote "Christmas at the Cross", a short story which was published in the Irish Times on Christmas Eve 2019 and reached No. 3 in their Culture Top 10 Most Read.[45] It was also published in paperback in "Nativity" annual short story anthology by Bridge House press. On 26 December 2020 the Irish Times published 'The Little Statue', part two of the 'Christmas at the Cross' story.[46] It is a novella in four parts about a young Irish woman holed up in a red light area of London who becomes friends with a local prostitute. It was published by Bridge House Publishing in October 2021. The Irish Times review said 'it was a short, sharp read that packed a punch'.[47] Film maker Jim Sheridan said "This is a book about women who have had enough...you will be astonished by Maeve's riveting tale."[48] The film adaptation is being done with Tile Media where Murphy is to write and direct with support from Screen Ireland.[49]