Jim Sheridan, the Oscar-nominated director behind MY LEFT FOOT and IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, has returned with his most provocative work yet. RE-CREATION, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, places one of Ireland’s most notorious unsolved murders under an unflinching microscope.
The film centers on the 1996 killing of French filmmaker Sophie Toscan Du Plantier at her West Cork vacation home. Sheridan’s compelling approach constructs a fictional trial around Ian Bailey, the British journalist who became the prime suspect but never faced trial in Ireland, despite being convicted in absentia by French courts.
Working with co-director David Merriman, Sheridan has crafted a “fiction-reality hybrid” that drops viewers into a jury room where twelve people grapple with the case’s complexities and contradictions. The film forces audiences to confront a justice system wrestling with insufficient evidence and compromised investigations.
Vicky Krieps delivers a “remarkable and magnetic” performance as the lone holdout juror, serving as moral compass in a room where tempers flare and personal experiences with injustice surface.
Colm Meaney’s silent portrayal of Bailey dominates the film despite never speaking, reflecting how Bailey was silenced more by public opinion than any court verdict. Bailey died in January 2024, maintaining his innocence until the end.
Sheridan believes there is “not a shred of evidence” linking Bailey to the murder. The case was plagued by investigative missteps: Sophie’s body lay unexamined for more than a day, witness identifications were confused, and Bailey was reportedly coerced. Mysteriously, Bailey was called to the murder scene and arrived at the exact location of the body.
The director frames this as a “double injustice” – against Sophie, whose killer was never identified, and Bailey, who lived under suspicion without receiving a fair trial in Ireland despite his French conviction.
While reviews have been mixed, RE-CREATION succeeds in its ambitious goal. It’s not traditional entertainment but a civic exercise disguised as cinema, asking viewers to do what the Irish justice system never did – sit in judgment of the evidence and reach their own conclusions.
For Sheridan, RE-CREATION represents a return to the politically charged, morally complex storytelling that made his reputation. In an era where true crime has become binge-watching entertainment, his approach feels refreshingly serious. He’s created a film that honors both victim and accused while challenging audiences to grapple with the uncomfortable reality that justice, like truth, is often more elusive than we’d like to believe.
When Emerald Fennell texted @alisonjoliver about joining WUTHERING HEIGHTS, the answer was immediate: yes.
"I just love her so much that I would do anything she was doing," Oliver says about reuniting with Fennell after SALTBURN.
The film is now in theatres, more at irishfilmtv.com.
Barry Keoghan has arrived.
The Dublin actor who made us unable to look away in SALTBURN is now going head-to-head with Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Halle Berry in CRIME 101 — and he`s not just keeping up, he`s stealing scenes.
This isn`t just another role—this is Keoghan proving he belongs among Hollywood`s heaviest hitters, taking his Love/Hate juice straight to LA and reminding everyone that sometimes the hungriest actor in the room is the most dangerous one.
More Barry at irishfilmtv.com.
One man. Eight characters. Pure theatrical magic. ✨
Andrew Scott`s VANYA won Best Play Revival at the WhatsOnStage Awards after its triumphant West End run at the Duke of York`s Theatre and now tops the list of best one-man shows of recent times.
More Andrew at irishfilmtv.com.
HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN FROM BELFAST drops Feb 12 on Netflix.
DERRY GIRLS star Saoirse Monica Jackson has been talking about the new series and her excitement is absolutely contagious.
Landing on Galentine`s Day feels perfect for this kind of ladies-celebrating-ladies energy.
Watch now at irishfilmtv.com.
Jamie Dornan is about to make you forget every role you thought defined him.
THE WORST, a pitch-black British comedy, casts him as Danny, a talent agent so pathologically addicted to self-promotion that he can`t stop name-dropping even as the dinner party around him combusts into spectacular social carnage.
More Jamie at irishfilmtv.com.
The awards season darling you`ve been hearing about is finally streaming.
Chloé Zhao`s HAMNET—the haunting exploration of grief, love, and the creation of Shakespeare`s HAMLET—brings together Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley in performances that have kept both firmly in the Oscar conversation.
If you missed it theatrically, now`s your chance to see what the buzz is about before Oscar night. This is the kind of film that reminds you why cinema matters.
More HAMNET at irishfilmtv.com.
Taylor Swift just dropped the OPALITE music video and it`s giving major Irish vibes ☘️✨
The nearly 6-minute visual sees Domhnall Gleeson starring as Taylor`s love interest, playing two lonely souls who find each other. But here`s where it gets even better: eagle-eyed Swifties spotted cameos from Cillian Murphy and Graham Norton, making this a full-on Irish affair.
Want the full breakdown of this transatlantic collaboration? Head to our blog for all the details on how this stunning video came together. Link in bio! 🔗
The creator of DERRY GIRLS just dropped a murder mystery set at an Irish wake, and honestly? It`s the genre mashup we didn`t know we needed 🕵️♀️
Lisa McGee is back with HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN FROM BELFAST on Netflix, and if you loved how she found humor in the Troubles (Protestants! Toasters! Cupboards!), you`re going to eat this up.
Three friends reunite for their childhood bestie`s funeral, only to realize her death isn`t what it seems. Cue an eerie adventure across Ireland that`s equal parts creepy and hilarious.
More at irishfilmtv.com.
British Vogue just put Jessie Buckley on their February cover and it`s not just a magazine shoot—it`s a coronation.
Shot by Jack Davison on the windswept Norfolk coast near her home, these images are pure cinema. Sky, sea, and a woman at the exact moment her entire life is about to change.
She`s the frontrunner for Best Actress. HAMNET is destroying audiences. She`s a new mother standing at the edge of the kind of fame that alters everything.
And Vogue captured it all—the grit, the greatness, the quiet mastery that got her here.
More Jessie at irishfilmtv.com.
