To mark the 40th anniversary of Pat Murphy’s Anne Devlin, Belfast Film Festival presented a rare screening of Pat Murphy’s powerful and poetic film, followed by an in-depth Q&A with members of its original creative team. 

Widely regarded as one of the greatest Irish films ever made, Anne Devlin tells the story of the eponymous revolutionary – from her politicisation as a young woman through to her involvement in Robert Emmet’s failed 1803 uprising. In her second feature following the groundbreaking feminist drama Maeve, Pat Murphy brings this underrepresented figure of Irish history to life with sensitivity, directness and cinematic precision.
Described by The Irish Times as a “painterly film”, the production features striking cinematography by Thaddeus O’Sullivan, who uses stark natural light to evoke the physical and emotional austerity of Devlin’s world. At the heart of the film is an extraordinary performance by Bríd Brennan, playing Devlin with steely resolve, grace and quiet fury.

The post-screening discussion was hosted by fellow filmmaker Margo Harkin and features writer-director Pat Murphy, actor Bríd Brennan and cinematographer Thaddeus O’Sullivan, who reflect on the making of the film, their careers, and the legacy of Anne Devlin four decades on. It took place at Belfast’s Queen’s Film Theatre on 8th November 2024.

In a heartfelt introduction, Harkin praises the film as an “astounding poem” and celebrates Murphy’s trailblazing achievements as an artist and feminist filmmaker. She traces Murphy’s journey from Belfast’s Ulster College of Art and Design to the Royal College of Art and the Whitney Museum in New York, where Murphy was influenced by radical feminist filmmakers such as Lizzie Borden.

Murphy recalls the collaborative spirit of Anne Devlin, paying tribute to the cast and crew she assembled, many of whom had worked with her since Maeve. Bríd Brennan is a highly esteemed actor whose breakout role in Four Days in July (directed by Mike Leigh) was followed by stage triumphs including Dancing at Lughnasa, for which she won a Tony Award and later reprised her role opposite Meryl Streep in the film adaptation.

O’Sullivan is recognised as a key figure in the emergence of an indigenous Irish cinema. Educated at the Royal College of Art, his early work as a cinematographer and filmmaker explored themes of exile, identity and political memory, including his work on On a Paving Stone Mounted.

Together, the panellists reflect on the film’s resonance today, the challenges of independent filmmaking in 1980s Ireland, and the power of centring female voices – both historical and contemporary – in cinema.