Aftermath

A mother should never have to bury her son. Bernie’s grief is complicated.  This is her story. Her attempt to tell it. You can’t imagine what happens to a family who lose a child to a drug related death. You’d have to live it. Bernie can’t sum it up. Maybe she can let you in though, for a while. 

Aftermath by ITS NOT OVER Films has screened so far at Galway Film Fleadh 2019, RTÉ Shortscreen 2021 & 2022 and Braunschweig International Film Festival, Germany, 2019

Directors Statement by Barry O’Connor and Grace Dyas

Aftermath is an exploration of complicated grief. We worked with six families who had lost a loved one to a drug-related death over two years and we drew on our own autobiography, family history, and experiences with addiction for the development of the story. The film is shot in Grace’s family home. 

Complicated grief doesn’t have a beginning middle and end. This inspired the form of ‘Aftermath’ we wanted the viewer to have to lean forward, to never be able to quite make sense of the timeline. To have some sense of the kind of experience it is to lose a child to a drug-related death. 

We have worked together in theatre for the past 10 years and this is our first short film. Over that time we have developed a unique approach to storytelling and acting. We worked with an equal mix of professional actors and people who had never acted before for this film. We have been leading acting workshops in addiction treatment centers for the past ten years and we brought all of that experience to bear with ‘Aftermath’. We were inspired by the social realist agenda of Ken Loach and the authenticity of the performances in Andrea Arnold films. 

We worked with a defined mix of set text and improvisation. We used the signature improvising style we have created together in our theatre work, we gave the actors the backstory of the characters and a score to follow and we let their and our imaginations do the work. 

This is our first film. 

Cast in order of appearance

Bernadette Doyle - Louise Lewis

Guard 1 - Eoin Winning

Guard 2 - Rebecca Grant 

Michelle - Edith Donohue 

Man in Car - Sean Dyas 

Pat Doyle - Jason Byrne

Patrick Doyle Junior - Lloyd Cooney 

Chloe Doyle  - Jaelynne Ruane 

Aisling McCarthy - Eva Jane Gaffney 

Lynda McCarthy - Rachael Keogh

Drug Dealers at the Door  - Tony May Junior & Karl Donohue 

Woman in Church  - Collette O’Connor 

Special thanks to the Bereavement Peer Support Group at The National Family Support Network

Written, Directed and Produced by Barry O’Connor and Grace Dyas 

Director of Photography - Narayan Van Maele

Editor - Allyn Quigley 

Shane Hogan - Producer

Doireann Coady - Line Producer        

Rebecca Grant - 1st  Assistant Director      

CJ Dempsey - Gaffer

Doireann Coady - Wardrobe 

Eoin Winning - Lighting Assistance

Rob Moore - Sound Operator

Rodrigo Bruzoni - 1st AC, Focus

Ivan Maloney - 2nd AC Clapper

Catering - Niamh O’Connell

Unit Base - St Andrews Community Centre Rialto

Thanks to THEATREclub, Mary Kinane and all at St Andrews Community Centre, Imelda Dyas, Tony May, Communities of Dolphin House and Fatima, Project Arts Centre, Ashleaf Shopping Centre Crumlin, Rialto Community Drug Team

Special thanks to Charlie O’Connor 

Aftermath was part funded by CREATE - The National Development agency for collaborative arts in Ireland.