FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

IFTA AWARDS 2026

Girls & Boys

Girls & Boys tells the story of rugby player Jace meeting aspiring filmmaker Charlie at a college party. Both attend Trinity, but their worlds couldn't be more different. As they wander the city, sharing secrets, dreams, and fears about life after college, a surprising revelation from their shared past threatens to upend their fragile connection.

Director: Donncha Gilmore
Writer: Donncha Gilmore
Producers: Gearoid Gilmore

Filmmaker Q&A

Q: What was the genesis of this film, and how did it evolve over the course of development to production and completion?

Donncha Gilmore (Director): “The genesis of this project started when I was a student in Trinity College Dublin.  I sketched out the basic premise in my third year there but didn't get very far into the script. I set it aside but the two lead characters of Jason & Charlie were often on my mind and over the course of about ten years I tried to write different iterations of the script. I never got much further than thirty pages until I reached a breaking point in 2022 and I updated the setting from secondary school to college and aged up the characters. Suddenly, the story seemed so much clearer to me and I wrote a dozen drafts over the course of a year, winnowing away until I felt I had the right shooting draft.”
 

Q: What did you feel was the most fulfilling element of working on this film?

Donncha: “The most fulfilling element was bringing my script into the room with Liath Hannon and Adam Lunnon Collery and workshopping it with them over the course of six months before the shoot. We had access to the location where we shot the apartment scenes and we could rehearse and workshop the script there. These characters had been in my head for so long that it was surreal to suddenly see them walk off the page.”

Q: To what extent was your on-screen talent vital to the success of the film?

Donncha: "I spent 8 months casting the film as I knew if we didn't have the right pair at the centre of the story that it would just fall flat. The film is all about the chemistry between Jace and Charlie, so many of the scenes rely on the two of them. I was lucky enough to cast Liath Hannon a full year in advance of the shoot, she's a talented writer as well as being a great actress so she was able to bring a lot of insight and suggestions to her character. The actor playing Jace needed to be masculine but also sensitive and vulnerable which Adam Lunnon-Collery was able to do so beautifully. The supporting cast were just as important with Francis O' Mahony and Oisín Flynn bringing nuance and depth to their roles that were in danger of being sidelined due to their having less screen time. I was delighted that numerous critics highlighted their efforts alongside Liath and Adam once the film was released.”
 

Q: What does it mean to have your work acknowledged by your peers in the Irish film community and showcased at the IFTA Awards?

Donncha: “It means a lot to have my work validated as I felt like I've been working in a vacuum for a long time. I think this is a common experience for young artists, you really aren't sure if what you're doing will connect with people. I spent a lot of my twenties making shorts to varying degrees of success and I mostly felt like an outsider in the industry. When it came to making Girls & Boys I felt I had something to say and that there was an audience out there for the film. The experience of partnering with Screen Ireland & Break Out to release this film has been a dream come true for me. Our premiere in Galway where we won best independent film was also very validating as making an independent film is so difficult, when you're making it you just hope that it will be seen and get a release so in the end we got more than we could have possibly hoped for."