In their debut documentary Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor take as their point of departure the compelling 18th Century figure, Ambrose O'Higgins, and attempt to retrace his remarkable journey from Ireland to Chile. Key locations in O'Higgins' life - a lake in Sligo, a field in Meath, the port of Cadiz, the sea, and the edge of a snow-covered mountain in the Andes - are visited and reflected upon in the hope that something might be revealed, as if these very locations might contain clues. Having long dreamt of making a biopic of O'Higgins, this wayward and wry documentary is the filmmakers' attempt to realise this dream through a personal voyage into the idea of the cinematic location. However, as they speculate on the idea of place and what O'Higgins embodies, the filmmakers continually get sidetracked by a competing story of immigration and displacement. Gradually, and not without humour, these intertwining narratives uncover ideas about the transformative powers of travelling, as looked at through the peculiar prism of the Irish experience.
It's during a term studying animal euthanasia that veterinary student Rose decides to contact Ellen, the birth mother who gave her up for adoption. But Ellen, who is now a successful London-based actress, doesn't want to know. Undeterred, Rose will not be ignored. And curiosity leads her to discoveries that shake the fragile identity she has built for herself. Directors Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor, also known as Desperate Optimists, have spent years making formally rigorous, atmospheric cinema that often deals with the uncanny effects of impersonation and the slippery nature of truth.
Based on the life of Rose Dugdale, a former debutante who rebelled against her wealthy upbringing, becoming a volunteer in the militant Irish republican organization, the Provisional Irish Republican Army.