FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

IFTA AWARDS 2026

Re-Creation: The Trial of Ian Bailey

In a fictitious trial, twelve members of a jury must decide whether British journalist Ian Bailey is guilty of the murder of French filmmaker Sophie Toscan Du Plantier in 1996. Based on real events, the film reconstructs, through the discussions between these twelve people, a case that ultimately invites the viewer to draw their own conclusions.

Director: Jim Sheridan, David Merriman
Writer: Jim Sherdian, David Merriman
Producers: Fabrizio Maltese, Tina O'Reilly

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?

David Merriman (Co-Director): “We had set out to make a docu-drama. A kind of hybrid but we ended up being over budget in Luxembourg and could not afford all the sets. So with a few weeks out, Jim had the idea of just building one room and turning it into a jury room.  Myself and Jim locked ourselves in a hotel for about ten days and wrote the script. Having Jim in as the jury foreman allowed him to bring his deep understanding of the case in and enable us to improv with the actors and find a lot of it in the room. We had just seven days to shoot the jury room sections, so it was very tight. After that we realised we had something we felt was working but needed more. So we wrote the external scenes and actually did a lot of green screen stuff in the jury room and it turned into Re-Creation. We shot the whole thing in twelve days, which is not a lot, but I think that pressure forced us to become creative and figure out how to make the film interesting while being based a lot in one room."

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

David: “Though all aspects of the creative process are rewarding, I think collaborating with the actors is always the highlight of any project. Actors make the whole thing real. It's beautiful to see someone bring truth to a role or come up with something you never saw."

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

David: “Well without them you don't have a film. You can have all the lighting, art department, costume and camera work you like, but without actors to make us feel something, people will just switch off. I'm really proud of the performances in the film. There are so many moments where the actors draw you in and you can see everyone really committed and gave everything.”

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

David: "Well it's a huge compliment when your work is acknowledged by anyone. When we got good reviews in the US, I think we all felt a sense of validation and relief.  But there are certain conversations and understandings you can only have with other artists, so when another artist likes your work, it acknowledges you, it's different. It's like we are all trying to find this thing in the dark and when you stumble on it, you think: oh this is it! But then you doubt. You write, you rewrite, you shoot, cut, test, worry and at the end, you have to let it go. And when you do, if other artists like it, it just feels special. It feels like you got it right."