I’m definitely one for a good Irish indie film, of any genre, and so Christy, from Wildcard and Altitude, looks like a joyous debut feature from Cork director Brendan Canty. Developed with BBC Film and Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland the film is a heartwarming story of second chances, connection, and finding your place in the world and will be released in cinemas across Ireland on 29th August and the UK on 5th September!

17-year-old Christy is at a crossroads. Kicked out of his suburban foster home, he moves in with his estranged older brother Shane and his young family. As far as Shane is concerned this is a temporary arrangement, but Christy begins to feel at home on Cork’s working-class Northside. As he makes friends and begins to let the community in, he also reconnects with his past through his seemingly more corrupting extended family, despite Shane’s efforts to protect him. Shane wants something better for Christy at any cost – even if it means he has to push him away. As the brothers look to reconcile their turbulent past, their family and the community around them offer hope for Christy’s future.

Full of humour, soul, and raw authenticity, the film stars breakout talent Danny Power (The Young Offenders) and Diarmuid Noyes (Five Minutes of Heaven), alongside a brilliant Irish ensemble including Emma Willis (Vikings, The Young Offenders), Alison Oliver (Saltburn, Conversations With Friends), Chris Walley (Bodkin, The Young Offenders), and Helen Behan (The Virtues).

The film also features members of The Kabin Studio, a Cork-based community arts collective known for its work in hip-hop and spoken word. In 2024, The Kabin Crew’s viral hit The Spark, recorded in collaboration with Lisdoonvarna Crew, amassed over 1 billion views and was hailed as the “song of the summer” by The New York Times.

Christy will make its Irish premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh next month where its star Diarmuid Noyes has been nominated for the Bingham Ray New Talent Award for his role in the film. The film is inspired by Canty’s acclaimed short film of the same name. His previous work includes the award-winning short For You, starring Barry Keoghan, and the music video for Hozier’s Take Me to Church, which has surpassed 1.4 billion views on YouTube.

The film is written by Alan O’Gorman from a story by O’Gorman and Canty and was developed with the mentorship of director Yann Demange (Top Boy, ’71, Lovecraft Country), who also serves as exec producer – take a watch:

Christy opens in cinemas across Britain on 5 September, and in Ireland one week earlier on 29 August