The Midnight Court and Other Aislings

Naas, County Kildare, Occupied Ireland. Years before the outbreak of the 1798 rebellion.

Niamh, a teenage girl, is overwhelmed by the atrocities that the people of her town are exposed to by the British military. In order to protect her mother Iona and her little brother Eamon after their father disappeared, she'll have to pick a side. But in times like these, lines are always blurry.

  • Alexandros Mattei
    Director
  • Alexandros Mattei
    Writer
  • James Holbrook
    Producer
  • Davey MacDonald
    Director of Photography
  • Davey MacDonald
    Editor
  • Connor Law Twigg
    Sound MIxing & Sound Editing
  • Cat Williams
    Key Cast
    "Niamh Gallagher"
  • Sarah-Louise Tyler
    Key Cast
    "Iona Gallagher"
  • Brendan Purcell
    Key Cast
    "Rory Dunne"
  • Stuart McNeil
    Key Cast
    "Captain Flanagan"
  • Bertie Bird
    Key Cast
    "Eamon Gallagher "
  • Ross Leyshon
    Key Cast
    "James Clarke"
  • Scott Suter
    Key Cast
    "Lieutenant Harrington"
  • Apostolos Ntontos
    Camera Assistant
  • Oliver Draper
    Camera Assistant
  • Tom Gripper
    1st Assistant Director
  • Ben Evans
    Gaffer
  • Patrick Flannery
    Sound Assistant
  • Rory Williams
    Promotional Media & BTS Videography
  • Joanna Straczynska
    Make Up Artist
  • Marta Maria Kursa
    Make Up Artist
  • Alexandros Mattei
    Composer
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Historical, Period
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 5 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 25, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    4,100 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English, Irish
  • Shooting Format:
    ProRes 422
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Fastnet Film Festival 2020
    Schull
    Ireland
    Official Selection
  • Royal Television Society Cymru Awards 2020
    Cardiff
    United Kingdom
    Best Student Camerawork Winner, Best Student Drama Nominee
Director Biography - Alexandros Mattei

Having just landed in Wales from Greece, Alex is more than excited to finally be in a place where the film community and industry is buzzing. In his short time in Wales, he has won several awards for his student films, and has produced a feature film ("Anhedonia", 2019, Quandary Productions).
He's eager to offer his cooking services to fellow crew members and hone his filmmaking skills, pursuing his passion in writing and directing.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Since I was a child I was absolutely enchanted by Ireland and it's culture. We couldn't be more excited to bring you this film now. It is about family, tough choices and conflict, set in a country that knows about all three better than most. The dilemmas the people of this period had to face, might strike a familiar chord with more recent or current troubles. Conflict, after all, is where there are sides that raise walls. This is why we find it helpful to look to the past, and seek guidance from unsung heroes, like Niamh. A girl that, despite this terrible historical backdrop, continues to work, sing, fall in love, to feel afraid & angry and to question; leading her own way through all this to dream and hope.

This film is part of "This Sea", a broader universe of stories around the 1798 Irish Rebellion, with a mini-series pilot script and a feature length script behind it, as well as two short films currently in pre-production.

I truly hope you enjoy this little aisling of ours.

Graduate Project - University of South Wales Film (BA) 2019