Out of Here

“Out Of Here” Directed by Donal Foreman: 80mins: (2013).

Made with a quiet authenticity that belies its nature as fiction, ‘Out of Here’ tells the story of a generation through its central figure of Ciaran (Fionn Walton) and his restlessness upon returning to Ireland after a year of travelling. A college dropout, Ciaran meets with friends scrambling to make a living as graduates in contemporary Ireland; his real interest, however, is in ex-girlfriend Jess (played by Annabell Rickerby) and his hope of restarting their relationship. Despite this desire to make his life in Dublin work, even the presence of new flame Melissa (Aoife Duffin) cannot prevent his home and its familiar banalities being difficult to bear. Director Donal Foreman’s first feature after a series of successful shorts, ‘Out of Here’ finds Foreman retaining his power to catch the small details which reveal the characters and their stories in this singular account of being young in Ireland.

‘Out Of Here’ was Foreman’s debut feature, which the Irish Times described as “profound, humorous and touching”.  He followed it with his award winning feature documentary ‘The Image You Missed” in which he grapples with the legacy of his estranged father, the late American documentarian Arthur MacCaig. His most recent award winning film “The Cry of Granuaile’ was released to huge acclaim in 2022. 

About The Filmmaker Dónal Foreman: 

Dónal Foreman (born Dublin, 1985) is an Irish filmmaker living between New York City and Dublin. He has been making films since he was 11 years old. Since then, he has written, directed, edited and co-produced three feature films and dozens of shorts (retrospectives of which have been curated by the Irish Film Institute and Cork Film Centre.

The Irish Times has called him “one of Ireland’ most imaginative cinematic talents”, and his features have been praised in the Hollywood Reporter, Sight & Sound, the Guardian, Film Comment and Filmmaker Magazine.

At age 17, he won the title of Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year. He has been nominated twice for the Irish Film & TV Academy Awards – for the Rising Star Award in 2014 and for Best Documentary in 2020 – and presented with the Discovery Award from the Dublin Film Critics Circle in 2014. His second feature, The Image You Missed, premiered at Rotterdam and has gone on to screen at over 40 festivals across 20 countries including Edinburgh, CPH:DOX and the Viennale, winning nine awards including the Grand Jury Prize at BAFICI, and receiving theatrical releases in Ireland, the UK, the US, Greece and Mexico. The Irish Times recently declared it one of the 50 best Irish films ever made. 

What the Press say about Foreman’s debut film ‘Out Of Here’ 

“We wouldn’t want to scupper Donal Foreman by labelling his wonderful debut feature “cool”, but, darn it, there is something unavoidably hip about Out of Here…. The Brownian motion recalls early work by Jim Jarmusch or effusions of the mumblecore movement, but the film’s stubborn sense of place helps it establish an identity all its own……. Pay attention. This is what can happen when a talented young director is allowed to make the film he really wants to make. One of a kind. What a debut!  Donald Clark The Irish Times

“Out of Here is a contemporary coming-of-age story showing Ireland and its youth culture in a light not previously seen or explored. Timely and expertly realised, Donal Foreman’s debut feature is a pitch-perfect and resonant depiction of contemporary Ireland and its young people”.  FRED FILM RADIO REVIEW.

“Out Of Here” focuses on the lack of opportunities among the Irish student population, following college-dropout émigré Ciarán (Fionn Walton) as he settles back into life in the family home after a year travelling…. The film boasts elegant camera work, with great wide shots of Dublin bay (including a particularly beautiful one of a black-clad boy doing an interpretive dance among the cawing gulls on Sandymount strand) as well as a lot of creative use of street and other public lighting. If you’re in the mood for a distinctly Irish piece of cinema, especially if you have any affection for Dublin, ‘Out of Here’ is a good film to look out for.   Rachel Graham 2NT Magazine.

A debut of promise, ‘Out Of Here’ marks one Donal Foreman out as a real talent. ………… After a handful of similarly-themed short films, New York-based Donal Foreman makes a startling debut – ‘Out Of Here’ moves with the confidence of a third or fourth film. Entertainment.i.e.