North

“Just grow up” says Richard to a grieved and powerless Aaron, a teenager who is forced to watch his mother willingly die.

Misunderstood by his family and living on an isolated farm, with his dog as only friend, Aaron’s love for his mother forms the emotional struggle that ties the beautiful North together.

North was written and directed as part of Phil Sheerin’s degree in directing fiction at the National Film and Television School and has, since then, received numerous critical acclaims and prizes, among which the win as Best UK short at this year’s Raindance Film Festival.

Through its simplicity North develops the themes of loneliness, isolation and love accompanied by a stunning cinematography and the use of the child’s gaze, one that is very reminiscent of Truffaut’s Antoine Doinel in The 400 Blows.This gaze is often constructed by the camera through distance and proximity to the character and mise-en-scene elements such as the constant presence of door frames, walls, shadows and unanswered questions by the adults.

It is this world of alienation that Aaron tries to fight as he struggles to make his mother take his medications while she and the family have chosen to turn to God and let her die.

The stunning performances of Barry Keoghan and Emer McCourt in the roles of mother and son perfectly encapsulate the heart-breaking reality of North.
The film does not fall into clichés and it does not use its dramatic potential to compensate for characterization nor style, it develops a voice of its own told through a delicate beauty and the aesthetic of love.

North is a film that speaks directly to the heart as all the best cinema should do.