Oscar-qualifying Short CALF: Interview/Film Breakdown with Ireland's Writer/Director Jamie O'Rourke

Bond on Cinema

Ladies and gentlemen, Jamie O’Rourke’s Oscar-qualifying and IFTA winning short CALF, is about a sinister farm accident and eaves Cáit, the daughter with a terrible decision to make.

CALF touches on its central theme of domestic abuse in a sensitive and considered manner and is a poignant exploration of shock, grief and trauma that delivers much-deserved catharsis. It poses tough questions for the audience. But there are never easy answers when a family is in the grip of abuse.

CALF has it all as an award winning short film. The storyline is on point and when a story places questions into the audience with “What would I have done in that situation?” You have the makings of a winner.

The cinematography is dark, a bit lifeless of color as it should be since domestic abuse only brings the colors of blood and bruises.

The acting of both Isabelle and Kate bring an authenticity to the their roles as abused women, but also you see the glimpses of an inner strength that is born with the symbolism brought on by the calf in the barn.

This film will cause you to think and one’s sins will not stay hidden in the dark for long. This film exposes those sins and brings them into the slow sunrise of an Irish farm.

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