Speaking about the movie, called The Ferry, which is being considered for the short live action category at this year s Oscars, Clodagh told how it s a major boost for the flick. We first premiered it at the Galway Film Fleadh in 2019, but the LA premiere in April last year was cancelled due to the pandemic, she says. But now to be at this juncture [with the Oscars] is really gratifying.
The movie about the Mother and Baby Homes, which also stars Aoife Duffin (Moone Boy) and Deirdre Donnelly (Ballykissangel), is based around three women searching for the truth. It covers a lot of ground, from the perspectives of the mother, the child and the nuns, Clodagh says. But it also asks the question, Where were the men? There was no shame laid on them and no responsibility.
Director Niall McKay s The Ferry has qualified for the short live action Academy long list.
Described as a darkly comic mystery with a twist, the film focuses on a young woman who battles ancient forces of church and state in a bid to find her birth mother. It reveals many women s struggles with losing their children to mother and baby homes. The Ferry is a short drama that explores the themes of secrecy, family, loss and regeneration set against the backdrop of the mother and baby homes in small town Ireland. It was shot on location in Shillelagh and Tinahely, Gorey in Co Wexford and in Crooke, Co Waterford.