Three short films produced as part of the Green Lit initiative will be available to watch on BBC One NI and BBC iPlayer

Three short films which have been produced as part of the Green Lit initiative – a collaboration between BBC Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen – will be available to watch on BBC One NI and BBC iPlayer from Wednesday 26 November from 10.40pm.

The Green Lit scheme supports emerging talent in writing, production, directing, and acting across Northern Ireland.

The three short films are:

• Rewarding from Conker Pictures, written by Matthew McDevitt, featuring Seána Kerslake and Vittorio Angelone.
• Helpless from Fabel Productions written by Michael Patrick and Oisín Kearney, starring Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Éanna Hardwicke and George Robinson.
• Mourning Glory created and written by Shane McNaughton, produced by Fíbín Films NI, featuring Nigel O’Neill and Amy Huberman.

Rewarding, on BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer, Wednesday 26 November, 10.40pm, is a new short film produced by Conker Pictures (a Banijay UK company). It follows co-workers Sinead played by Seána Kerslake (Ballywalter, Blue Lights) and Francis (comedian Vittorio Angelone in his first acting role) as they navigate their first shift together in a private domiciliary care facility in rural mid-Ulster.

New employee Sinead is an unstoppable force of positivity and idealism while long-term carer Francis is an immovable object of cynicism and pragmatism. Tasked with providing round-the-clock care for adults with learning difficulties and behavioural challenges, their differing approaches are tested to the extreme when one of their clients, Cal, is faced with some bad news on his birthday.

The film’s title is an in-joke amongst support workers, as the response to when they tell people what they do for a living is almost always (a slightly patronising) “that must be challenging… but rewarding”.

Helpless, which follows on BBC One NI at 11pm, is a black comedy thriller made by Belfast-based scripted indie FABEL Productions. It stars George Robinson (Sex Education, Silo), Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Derry Girls, This City is Ours), Éanna Hardwicke (The Sixth Commandment, A Very Royal Scandal) and Vanessa Ifediora (Foundation, Derry Girls).

Newly disabled wheelchair-user Cillian (George Robinson) is a hopeless romantic, down-on-his-luck and obsessed with the curious girl next door, Grace (Saoirse-Monica Jackson). He suspects her shady boyfriend Joe (Éanna Hardwicke) is abusing her, but help is in short supply – even his personal care assistant Fleur (Vanessa Ifediora) has fallen for Joe’s charms. Desperate to save Grace, Cillian must overcome his fears and confront Joe himself, but behind closed doors the situation is more complex than he ever could have imagined.

Helpless is a contemporary story from Northern Ireland with high stakes, dark comedy, and unexpected characters, written by multi-award-winning writers Michael Patrick and Oisín Kearney (My Left Nut). Cillian’s situation is inspired by Michael’s real-life experience as a newly disabled wheelchair user. Helpless explores prejudice, the lengths people will go to for love, and how things are not always as they seem. It is executive produced for FABEL Productions by Keith Martin, produced by Christopher Myers and directed by Oisín Kearney.

Mourning Glory, on BBC One NI at 11.20pm, is written and created by Shane McNaughton and is a Fíbín Films NI production starring Nigel O’Neill (Bad Day For The Cut, Say Nothing) and Amy Huberman (Flora and Son, Derry Girls).

It follows Dermot (Nigel O’Neill), a recent widower who seeks out the company of grieving strangers at random funerals, in an attempt to numb his own pain. Encouraged by his neighbour Jimmy, played by Lalor Roddy (That They May Face The Rising Sun, Say Nothing), Dermot’s new past time of gate-crashing of every wake across rural county Antrim doesn’t go unnoticed. The new funeral director (Amy Huberman) and her young son, played by Lennox Loughran (Say Nothing, Jimmy Won’t be at Work Today), catch him in the act but then make him an offer he surely can’t refuse…

This warm-hearted comedy breathes life into death through the world of wakes and funerals in the rural Glens of Northern Ireland. It is executive produced by Darach Ó Tuairisg, Ciarán Charles Ó Conghaile and Bernie Hoban, produced by Méabh Nic Alastair and directed by John Carlin.

The Green Lit initiative was launched in December 2024, inviting proposals from independent production companies. Six projects were initially selected for funded development, with three progressing to full production.

MD

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