‘That They May Face The Rising Sun’

Director: Pat Collins:  Cast: Barry Ward, Anna Bederke, Lalor Roddy, Sean McGinley, Ruth McCabe.

English / 111mins; UK/Ireland 2023

Adapted from Irish literary giant John McGahern’s final novel, this stunning bucolic treat is a hymn to the joys of the Irish countryside and the people who live in it. Joe (Barry Ward) and Kate (Anna Bederke) have escaped the city and find themselves woven into the lush world of County Leitrim. Is happiness possible or will the idyll be shattered?

Director Pat Collins continues his run of authentic and attentive views of Gaelic lives, following Song of Granite and his documentary focused on John McGahern’s life. For those who have delighted in recent Irish treasures such as The Quiet Girl, this is another stunning adaptation of Irish rural life, deeply humane and beguilingly beautiful that manages to take the merits of its literary roots and turn it into something powerfully cinematic.

This Film Screening will be followed by a Q&A with Leading Actor Lalor Roddy, in conversation with film reviewer Steve Martin – curator of the ICC’s monthly Irish Film Club.

Nominated for 11 IFTA awards: Winner of Best Irish Film at Dublin Film Festival

About Lalor Roddy

Lalor Roddy’s performance in “That They May They Face the Rising Sun”, (based on the last novel written by the great Irish writer John McGahern), is considered by many to be one of the best performances of Roddy’s long and illustrious career. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the IFTA awards 2024, for his role in the film, with it going on to win the top honour of Best Film at the Irish Film & TV Awards. Described by the Irish Times Theatre Critic, Fintan O’Toole as “surely one of the best actors of his  generation”, over the years Roddy has worked alongside some of the biggest names in show business, among them Liam Neeson, Daniel Craig and Paul Mescal. He has recently featured in the new dark-comedy film about Belfast rap artists KNEECAP, where he worked again with Michael Fassbender, with the pair having previously shared the screen in the film ‘Hunger’, which details Bobby Sands’ final days on hunger strike in 1981.  Some of his previous films. Include ‘God’s Creatures’ (with Emily Watson), ‘Michael Inside’, ‘Five Minutes Of Heaven’, ‘The Good Man’ (with Aidan Gillen), and ‘The Escapist’. Some of Roddy’s T.V. includes “Game Of Thrones”, “Between The Lines”, “The Ruth Rendell Mysteries”,  “Jack Taylor” and “Circles of Deceit”. Some of his theatre roles include many roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Abbey Theatre Dublin; Roddy was a co-founder of the acclaimed Tinderbox Theatre Company in Northern Ireland. He won the ESB/Irish Times Award for best supporting actor in Frank McGuinness’s play ‘Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme’ and  he was nominated in the ESB/Irish Times Theatre Awards for best actor for his performance in  Martin McDonagh’s The Weir.