Maeve Murphy facts for kids

Maeve Murphy is a talented Irish director and screenwriter. She is known for making films that tell important stories. In 2011, her short film Sushi won a special award at the Venice Film Festival. Later, in 2020, her film Silent Grace was named one of the 50 best Irish films ever made by the Irish Times newspaper.

Early Life and Beginnings

Maeve Murphy was born in Belfast, which is in Northern Ireland. When she was a teenager, she helped host a TV show for young people called Wise Crack on BBC Northern Ireland. Later, she went to Cambridge University. There, she was involved with the famous comedy group Cambridge Footlights. She also helped start a theater company called "Trouble and Strife."

Early Film Work

Maeve Murphy started her film career with short films. Her first short film was Amazing Grace, which starred Aidan Gillen. It was shown at the BFI. Her second short film, Salvage, featured Orla Brady and was first shown at the Cork Film Festival.

Silent Grace

Silent Grace is a powerful drama film. It tells a fictional story based on real events about women prisoners in Northern Ireland in the early 1980s. The film stars Orla Brady, Cathleen Bradley, Cara Seymour, Patrick Bergin, and Conor Mullen.

In 2002, Silent Grace was chosen to represent the UK at the Cannes Film Festival. It was also shown at many other film festivals around the world, including Galway, Moscow, Taormina, and the Hamptons Film Festival in the USA. At the Hamptons festival, it was nominated for an award that recognizes films about conflict and resolution.

Critics gave Silent Grace good reviews. It was praised by Variety and the Irish Times. The film was released in cinemas in London, Belfast, and Dublin in 2004. It was also available for streaming online on Hulu and Mubi.

Years later, in 2017, Silent Grace had its first TV showing across Ireland on TV3. The Sunday Times called it one of the "Films of the Week." In May 2020, the Irish Times listed Silent Grace as number 38 in their list of the 50 greatest Irish films of all time. The film was also added to special collections by the Irish Film Institute and BFI Player in 2021 and 2022.

Beyond The Fire

Maeve Murphy's second feature film was Beyond The Fire. This film explored themes of love and healing. It starred Cara Seymour and Scot Williams.

Beyond The Fire won several awards. It was named Best UK Feature at the London Independent Film Festival in 2009. It also won Best International Feature at the Garden State Film Festival in the USA in 2010. The film was shown at the Belfast Film Festival and the ICA New British Cinema season.

It was released in cinemas in London, Belfast, and Dublin in 2009 and 2010. A film critic from The Guardian newspaper said the film's belief in the power of love was appealing. The film was later broadcast on BBC2 in the UK in 2013 and was available on BBC iPlayer.

Sushi and Taking Stock

In 2011, Maeve Murphy won the Sub-ti International short film Award for her comedy-drama short film Sushi. This film starred Luanna Priestman and Junichi Kajioka.

Her feature film Taking Stock was based on Sushi. It is a comedy film about everyday life. It starred Kelly Brook and Scot Williams. Taking Stock was first shown in the UK at the 2015 Raindance Film Festival. It also went to the 2015 Monaco International Film Festival, where it won four awards:

• Independent Spirit Award for the film, directed by Murphy
• Best Supporting Actor
• Best Producer
• Best Cinematography

In 2016, Taking Stock was shown at the Garden State Film Festival. There, Maeve Murphy and producer Geoff Austin won the Bud Abbott Award for feature-length comedy. The film also won awards at the WIND International Film Festival in LA, where Murphy won Best Female Director in the comedy section. Junichi Kajioka also won Best Supporting Actor. The film was released in UK cinemas in 2016 and was available on Netflix in the UK and Ireland from 2016 to 2018.

Siobhan

Siobhan is a 2017 short film written and directed by Murphy. It is a ghost story. It won an Award of Excellence in the One Reeler Short film competition in LA. It also won an award for Best Music, which was composed by David Long. A film critic described it as "beautifully shot" and "darkly moving."

Recent Work

From 2018 to 2020, Maeve Murphy worked on a screenplay for a feature film. This film was about the life and love story of Victoria Mary Clarke and Shane MacGowan.

Murphy also wrote a short story called "Christmas at the Cross." It was published in the Irish Times on Christmas Eve 2019 and became very popular, reaching No. 3 in their most-read culture articles. A second part of the story, 'The Little Statue', was published in the Irish Times in December 2020. This story grew into a novella, a short novel, which was published in October 2021. The Irish Times review said it was "a short, sharp read that packed a punch."

St Pancras Sunrise

In 2024, Maeve Murphy wrote, directed, and produced a short film called St Pancras Sunrise. This film is based on real events and her novella "Christmas at the Cross." It is a preview for a longer feature film that is being developed.

The short film was shown at the ICA's IFTUK St Patrick's Festival. It stars Emma Eliza Regan, Frankie Wilson, Sibylla Meienberg, and Orla Brady. It had its first showing on July 12, 2024, at the Ischia Film Festival. Maeve Murphy and executive producer Jim Sheridan gave a talk after the screening.

St Pancras Sunrise was also part of the official selection at several other film festivals, including Belfast, Catalyst, Fastnet, Irish Film London, and Raindance Film Festival. It has won 8 international awards, including:

• Best International Short Film at the Silicon Beach Film Festival in LA
• Honorable Mention at London Breeze Film Festival
• Winner Best Short at the London International Screenwriters Film Festival
• Winner Best Short Short at City of Lights Film Festival

Maeve Murphy was also longlisted for Best Director at the British Short Film Awards for this film. Media outlets have praised the film, with Film Ireland calling it a "break out success" and noting its "electric immediacy."