five letters to the stranger who will dissect my brain
Short Film
25 minutes
Nominated for a 2021 IFTA Award, FIVE LETTERS TO THE STRANGER WHO WILL DISSECT MY BRAIN describes the haunting journey of first-year medical student VIV whose encounter with a cadaver in the anatomy room sends her on a soul-searching quest into the nature of what it means to be alive.
Inspired by the poem by Doireann Ní Ghríofa, FIVE LETTERS TO THE STRANGER WHO WILL DISSECT MY BRAIN features Venetia Bowe as Viv.
Written and directed by Oonagh Kearney.
Produced by Roisín Geraghty for Tyrella Pictures, 2018.
Funded by an Arts Council of Ireland Film Project Award with additional support from Cork City Arts Office, Trinity College Dublin Provost Fund and the SLR Fund.
Please see IMDB for full cast and crew.
To view FIVE LETTER TO THE STRANGER WHO WILL DISSECT MY BRAIN, contact Lisa Richards Creatives.
WINNER
Best Short Screenplay, Irish Writers Guild Zebbie Awards, June 2019
Discovery Award, Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival, Feb 2019
Best Irish Short Film, Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival, Feb 2019
Best Director of an Irish Short Film, Cork International Film Festival, Nov 2018
NOMINATED
Irish Film and Television Award for Best Live Action Short, 2021
Best Director (Oonagh Kearney), Best Editor (Cara Holmes), Best Cinematographer (Eleanor Bowman), Underwire Film Festival, London 2019
REVIEWS
“Oonagh has consistently shown great originality and creativity of approach in her previous work and we believe that her stunningly beautiful and accomplished film FIVE LETTERS TO THE STRANGER WHO WILL DISSECT MY BRAIN clearly demonstrates that Oonagh is fast becoming one of the most interesting and distinctive voices in Irish film. We are very excited to see what Oonagh will do next.”
Discovery Award Jury, DIFF 2019
“FIVE LETTERS TO THE STRANGER WHO WILL DISSECT MY BRAIN is an accomplished and successful merging of disciplines, with excellent production values and a singular voice.”
Best Irish Short Jury, DIFF 2019
“Easily the best titled film of the programme, FIVE LETTERS TO THE STRANGER WHO WILL DISSECT MY BRAIN (I couldn’t resist writing that again) is based on the poem of the same name by Doireann Ní Ghríofa. It depicts the journey of first-year medical student Viv, whose first encounter with a cadaver in the anatomy room sends her on a soul-searching quest into the nature of what it means to be alive. Director Oonagh Kearney was the winner of the Best Irish Short Director at last year’s Cork Film Festival and it’s not hard to see why. This is a beautiful short, refreshingly original and undoubtedly emotional. Venetia Bowe shines as Viv while special praise must be reserved for Irene Buckley’s haunting score and Cara Holmes’ nuanced editing.”
Film Ireland Review by David Deignan, 2019