Private Project

The Widow

Ireland, 1952, a young mother's cry for help in a man's world where silence is a virtue.

  • Ailish Castillo
    Director
  • Nicola Morris
    Director
    Colette (Short film, 2010) The Barber (short film, 2014)
  • Ailish Castillo
    Writer
  • Ailish Castillo
    Producer
  • Ailish Symons
    Key Cast
    "Nora"
    Bachelor's Walk, The Clinic, Beauty Queen, Starfish
  • Siobhan Mc Sweeney
    Key Cast
    "Eileen"
    Derry Girls, The Fall
  • Jonathan Tafler
    Key Cast
    "Fr. O Connell"
    Yentl, Witch Hunt- A Century of Murder
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 12 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 8, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    7,500 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    Ireland
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED EPIC 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    3:2
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Ailish Castillo, Nicola Morris

-Born in Cork, Ireland, Ailish began as an actress where she learned the trade through years of experience both on stage and screen. She was awarded A high Commendation at The Ian Charleson Theatre Awards, by the National Theatre, London, for her role as Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast. She was also nominated for Best Actress at the irish Times Theatre Awards for playing the lead in Enda Walsh play, Pondlife Angels. This is her first venture at being co-director. The whole process has come from the heart as it's a story inspired by her own Grandmother. Writing about her grandparent's past gave her the vision to create this first short film.

-Born in England, Nicola lives her life through the lens. She has made three short films: 'Out of Milk,' 'Colette' and 'The Barber'. All three have been bought by sales agent Shorts International. Nicola was selected for the Times BFI London Film Festival's feature film talent scheme. She also works as a stills photographer for films and music videos.

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Director Statement

This is a hauntingly beautiful tale which highlights the strength of a woman, however tough the road became for her. This is very much a female driven project. We wanted to tell her story with a subtle power to it... How Irish women coped and supported each other through silent gestures in the 50's, under the umbrella of a dominant Catholic Church. To talk about your feelings or problems was not encouraged. I, Ailish, came on board as co-director with Nicola and we really feel our hard work has paid off. From the run down pub in my community that let me transform and film in their upstairs rooms at no charge, to the local church kindly opening their doors to us. For a shoe string budget we can proudly say we feel we achieved a very high production value. This is a personal story which is embedded in me and we are both honoured to help bring it to life and create such beautiful frames with an incredibly hard working, mostly female, team. From our Dop, Sally Low (Les Miserables, BBC) to our Sound team, John Lewis Aschenbrenner and Jack Woods (Killing Eve, BBC). We were blessed with a crew who were happy to give their time all because they believed in the script.