Two forthcoming Irish films, Spilt Milk and Testimony, have been nominated for the ICCL Human Rights in Film Award at Dublin International Film Festival.

Two Irish films nominated for the ICCL Human Rights in Film Award

Five films at Dublin International Film Festival have been shortlisted for the ICCL Award

January 30 2025 —The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has announced the five films which have been nominated for the 2025 ICCL Human Rights Film Award at the Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF). 

The winning film will be decided by a five-strong jury comprised of Cork Sexual Violence Centre CEO, Mary Crilly; writer and producer, Fergus Dowd; State Special Rapporteur for Racial Equality and Racism, Dr Ebun Joseph; broadcaster Emer O'Neill; and "artivist" and filmmaker, Alana Daly Mulligan.  

The five films nominated for the ICCL Human Rights in Film Award are: 

  • Spilt Milk
  • On Falling
  • My Sweet Land
  • Obedience
  • Testimony

Spilt Milk

It is the 80s and 11-year-old Bobby O'Brien (Cillian Sullivan) dreams of becoming a great detective like his TV hero Kojak. Bobby sets up a private investigation enterprise with his best friend Nell (Naoise Kelly), who is the Dr. Watson to his Sherlock. When Bobby's older brother Oisín (Lewis Brophy) disappears, the young detectives get their first case. Durnin's debut feature is set in an ugly Dublin of uncertainty, economic crisis and gangs, and yet it is a film with a lot of heart. Unapologetic in both its direction and script (by Cara Loftus), it premiered at Just Films, Youth and Children's Film Festival (part of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival).

Showing Sunday 23 February, 20:45 @ Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin.

On Falling

Set against a landscape dominated by an algorithm-driven gig economy, Lauren Carriera’s directorial debut explores the silent, vital struggle to find meaning. Aurora (Joana Santos), a Portuguese migrant working in a warehouse in Edinburgh, is trapped between the confines of a vast distribution centre and the solitude of her own bedroom. She seeks connection in a world designed to keep people apart, she seeks a better life for herself. Carriera’s extremely important and enveloping film won the Sutherland Award for Best First Feature in London and the Silver Shell in San Sebastian.

Showing Wednesday 26 February, 20:30 @ Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin.

This film will be screened with Descriptive Subtitles for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH).

My Sweet Land

Sareen Hairabedian's first feature is a coming-of-age documentary set against a multigenerational war in the post-Soviet Caucasus Mountains. 11-year-old Vrej dreams of becoming a dentist in his picture-postcard village of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), with its roaming ducks and golden bees. His life takes a sudden turn when war erupts and he is forced into exile with his family. Upon his return, he confronts changed power dynamics and an education that prepares children for near-future battles. Vrej must learn the rules of war, but can he carry a nation's hopes on his young shoulders? This film is a testament to the people of Artsakh, for whom hope and trauma have shaped resilience across generations.

Showing Sunday 23 February, 15:45 @ Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin.

Obedience

Hung Hom (Hongkong) is a neighbourhood of contrasts; while citizens annually visit its temple of Kwun Yum to seek wealth by praying for a “loan” from the deity’s legendary treasury, locals peddle their second-hand goods at a flea market and elderly people rummage through rubbish on the streets in hopes of finding recyclable materials. Five years in the making, this documentary by Wong reveals how our waste is never truly discarded, but merely processed into something of value for others. Its fantastic score (by composer Olivier Cong) brings an unnatural quality to the shocking realities of class imbalance and gentrification. The film premiered at Rotterdam in the ‘Harbour’ section.

Showing Sunday 23 February, 15:45 @ Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin.

Testimony

This is not the Handmaid’s Tale. This, unfortunately, is real. Between 1922 and 1996 10,000+ girls and women were imprisoned in Ireland – unmarried mothers, daughters of unmarried mothers, those who were considered “promiscuous” or a burden on their families or the State, those who had been sexually abused, or had grown up in Catholic or State ‘care’. 

These Magdalene women and the children of the Mother & Baby Homes might still be shrouded in secrecy and shame, if not for the work of Justice For Magdalenes. This tiny group of women lawyers, academics and volunteers have together waged an extraordinary battle on behalf of the survivors of Irish institutions. This documentary tells their story.
 
Justice For Magdalenes charts the key legal and political battles the group has fought - on the steps of Irish parliament, at the High Court and all the way to the United Nations. And tracks the vital projects undertaken to ensure that the survivors and the abuse they endured will never be forgotten. 
 
We hear from survivors, including Philomena Lee, whose son was taken from her aged three and trafficked to America; Elizabeth Coppin who was imprisoned in three different Magdalene Laundries; and Mary Harney, who, as a child, was told by the Good Shepherd nuns that her birth mother had died, only to discover later that her mother was alive and desperately searching for her. 
 
The film presents a narrative of resistance, resilience and hope.
 
Showing Friday 28 February, 18:15 @ Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin.
 

The winning film will be announced at the Dublin International Film Festival Awards on Saturday 1 March. Tickets to all the screenings are available from www.diff.ie. 

ENDS

For media queries: Ruth McCourt, ruth.mccourt@iccl.ie / 087 415 7162

ICCL Human Rights in Film Award 2025 Jury Members

Mary Crilly (CEO of the Cork Sexual Violence Centre)
 
Mary Crilly is a founding member and CEO of the Sexual Violence Centre Cork. As a feminist activist, Mary has campaigned tirelessly for policy and legislative changes in the areas of sexual violence, sex trafficking, domestic violence, female genital mutilation and human rights. In 2019, Mary received the Anthea Swan Equality Award from University College Cork. In 2022, Mary was conferred with the Freedom of the City by Cork City Council and in 2023, she received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the National University of Ireland.
 
Fergus Dowd (Producer of '406 Days')
 
Fergus is a writer, researcher, and film producer. In 2021, he co-wrote Tales From the Debenhams Picket Line about the 1,000 Debenhams workers who were made redundant in April of 2020. The 95% female workforce went on strike and manned the picket lines for 406 days, making it the longest industrial dispute in Irish labour history. Fergus produced the film adaptation of the book in 2022 with award winning director, Joe Lee. The film, 406 Days, premiered at the Dublin International Film Festival in 2023 and won the Human Rights in Film Award that same year.
 
Ebun Joseph (State Special Rapporteur for Racial Equality and Racism)
 
Dr Ebun Joseph is the CEO and Founder of the Institute of Antiracism and Black Studies (IABS). She is also the Special Rapporteur for Racial Equality and Racism Ireland and a Module Coordinator and Lecturer in Black Studies at University College Dublin (UCD). She is also the founder and Chairperson of the African Scholars Association Ireland and the author of Equity in the Workplace: Stories of Black Irish Women in Ireland (2024).
 
Emer O'Neill (Broadcaster)
 
Emer O'Neill is a seasoned moderator, host, public speaker, and anti-racism activist with experience in sustainability, global citizenship, racism, equity and inclusion, and mental health advocacy. She is a founding member of Bray for Love, an anti-racism group based in Bray, Co. Wicklow, and author of the children's book, The Same But Different, which helps educators and parents start conversations with their children about racism, inclusion, and loving yourself just the way you are.
 
Alana Daly Mulligan (Artivist, Producer and Filmmaker)
 
Alana Daly Mulligan is a multi-award-winning spoken-word “artivist”, storyteller & producer of Déise extraction. Alana, a co-founder of numerous creative initiatives seeking to promote arts, culture and activism, has proudly worked on the stage and behind the scenes, performing at bars, theatres, and festivals from Cork to New York as an actor and spoken word artist. Their work has been widely published, presented on four continents, taught on university syllabi, and archived for future generations.