Wildfire (2020)
Wednesday, March 10th • Available from 9 AM ET
Having disappeared from her quiet border town in Northern Ireland a year prior, Kelly (Nika McGuigan, CAN'T COPE, WON'T COPE) shows up on the doorstep of her sister, Lauren (Nora-Jane Noone, BROOKLYN, THE DESCENT). Born within a year of each other, these "Irish twins" share a deep bond despite their differences — Kelly, the wild one, makes Lauren's married life and factory job look like pillars of conventionality. Kelly's return, however, stirs up long-repressed traumas between the sisters, and in their community, that threaten this veneer of stability. Soon, Lauren must choose between the life she knows and her connection to her sister. Director Cathy Brady frames this present-day family drama within the history of The Troubles and the current debates around the return of a hard border between the UK province in the North and the independent Republic in the south. In foregrounding how the past impacts the present, Brady boldly opens up conversations around mental health and the generation in Northern Ireland that grew up in a "post-conflict" society. Where WILDFIRE's quiet explosivity truly lies, though, is in the unshakable performance of McGuigan, who sadly passed away from cancer in 2019. Brady's feature debut is an emotionally stirring exploration of two sisters — and a country — struggling to emerge from a traumatic past.
(Note adapted from Toronto International Film Festival.)
Please note: This title is available to viewers located anywhere in the United States and U.S. Territories.
Awards: Official Selection, 2020 Toronto, London and Thessaloniki film festivals.
Credits: DIR/SCR Cathy Brady; PROD David Collins, Carlo Cresto-Dina, Charles Steel. Ireland/UK, 2020, color, 85 min. In English. NOT RATED
