Experiencing Interruptions?

Rebecca's Boyfriend

After cheating on his girlfriend, Cameron is forced to reconsider
whether he is the nice guy he thought he was and not in fact a dickhead.

  • Craig Austin Reynolds
    Director
    Ringsend (short), Start Tomorrow (short)
  • Craig Austin Reynolds
    Writer
    Ringsend (short), Start Tomorrow (short)
  • Craig Austin Reynolds
    Producer
    Ringsend (short), Start Tomorrow (short)
  • Cameron Macaulay
    Producer
  • Cameron Macaulay
    Key Cast
    "Cameron"
  • Jack Gleeson
    Key Cast
    "Rory"
    Game of Thrones (HBO)
  • Breffni Holahan
    Key Cast
    "Jill"
    Poster Boys
  • Maeve O'Mahony
    Key Cast
    "Leslie"
    Everything Not Saved
  • Eoghan Quinn
    Key Cast
    "Alan"
  • Genevieve Hulme-Beaman
    Key Cast
    "Muireann"
    Dad (RTE)
  • Emer Casey
    Key Cast
    "Odette"
    Bloodlands (BBC)
  • Mark Doherty
    Key Cast
    "Lorcan"
    A Film with Me In It, Ondine, Moone Boy, Disco Pigs
  • Éilish McLaughlin
    Key Cast
    "Maria"
  • Roisin Agnew
    Key Cast
    "Rebecca"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama, Comedy
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 22 minutes 45 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 15, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Ireland
  • Country of Filming:
    Ireland, United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English, Irish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • IndieCork Film Festival
    Cork
    Ireland
    September 19, 2021
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Dublin International Comedy Film Festival
    Dublin
    Ireland
    January 25, 2022
    Nomination: Best Feature; Winner: Best Actor
Director Biography - Craig Austin Reynolds

Craig is an Irish director/writer with an obsession for stories about romance, the complexities of relationships, and themes revolving around toxic masculinity, modern love, and battling depression. His inspirations come form a variety of places including Joe Swanberg and Greta Gerwig's work in the Mumblecore movement, the verbose and comic dialogue styles found in both Hong Sang Soo and Eric Rohmer's films, and the deep affection of characters found in Joanna Hogg's movies.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

My aim in Rebecca’s Boyfriend was to make a piece that was realist in tone but imaginative in scope, to mix the conversational style of the Mumblecore movement and the films of Hong Sang-Soo and Joanna Hogg, with the gentle comedy and thematic exploration seen in Ruben Ostlund's work, like Force Majeure and The Square. I wanted a grounded reality but also space to play with ideas in a sometimes surreal way.

To achieve the naturalism, I took Hong Sang-Soo’s method of writing the story as the film developed, scene by scene, so that the characters had less time with the script beforehand resulting in a sort of forced naturalism. This also led to a collaborative approach, where the actors could suggest lines that felt appropriate for their character, which in turn affected the plot, sending it in new directions.

The French New Wave directors explored their city in the context of the post-war economic boom, similarly, the aim was to ask these questions in the context of a rapidly changing Dublin, so that the characters are framed in relation to the changing environment around them.

I feel that Ireland has sometimes lacked a natural, New Wave, form of cinema. Instead, the emphasis has often been laboured on the concept of “plot,” with the suggestion that there is an objective ideal here that filmmakers should always strive for. In Rebecca’s Boyfriend, I wanted the emphasis on the characters, that they should guide the film, and to show that this narrative structure can work in Ireland just as well as anywhere else.