Written and directed by Shaunagh Connaire, “Brown Bread” marks the narrative debut from writer/director Shaunagh Connaire, the two-time Emmy-nominated Irish journalist who has produced documentaries for the likes of the BBC and PBS Frontline and also served as communication director for George and Amal Clooney‘s Foundation for Justice. The film — described by Connaire as a “modern twist on the Irish emigration story” — is led by Emmy-winning actress Fionnula Flanagan (“Lost,” “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”), Katie McGrath (“Merlin,” “Supergirl”) and Dermot Crowley (“Luther: The Fallen Sun,” “The Death of Stalin”).
Inspired by Connaire’s own experience of being unable to travel to Ireland from the U.S. to attend her godmother’s funeral, the story follows Áine (McGrath), a woman whose return to Ireland from New York to attend her godmother’s memorial mass stirs up old tensions, grief, and unspoken affection in her rural family home. Flanagan stars as Betty, a proud but emotionally restrained mother struggling with her daughter’s return, while Crowley plays Áine’s father Seamus.
Dir: Shaunagh Conaire
Prod: Julie Ryan
Editor: John Murphy
Music: Dathai
John Murphy 