Born in the US, but now dividing her time between Los Angeles and Dublin, director Steph Green was nominated for an Oscar in 2009 for her short film New Boy, a sensitive portrait of a young African lad struggling to settle into a new school in Ireland. The theme of coming to terms with a dramatic life change is once again central in her confident, boldly stylized feature debut Run & Jump.
Set in a picturesque Irish town, the film begins with the return to the family of Conor (Edward MacLiam), a 38-year-old carpenter who’s suffered a damaging stroke, leaving him severely mentally restricted. In response, his spirited wife, Vanetia (Maxine Peake), has brought an American neurophysiologist, Ted Fielding (Will Forte), into the household to observe Conor’s condition. Ted soon finds himself becoming inextricably woven into the family in ways he hadn’t imagined. Undoubtedly a name to watch, Green has crafted a debut as fresh, intimate, and compassionate as Lynne Ramsay’s Ratcatcher.
Ashley Clark
Slant Magazine
‘confirms the promise shown in Ms Green’s Oscar-nominated short New Boy ... its blend of drama and humour is well worth savouring’
The Irish Times
‘captures the beauty of an obviously flawed family with remarkable warmth and immediacy’
Variety
Winner, Best Irish Feature, Galway Film Fleadh
