Portia A. Buckley’s Cleveland selected Irish short CLODAGH shares the story of a priest’s housekeeper and her moral battle between religious integrity and bending the rules in the name of passion

BritFlix Buzz, Film

British/Irish director Portia A. Buckley’s CLODAGH follows Mrs Kelly, a lonely, devout, and rigorously honest housekeeper (Bríd Ní Neachtain) who discovers a young Irish girl with an exceptional gift, Clodagh (Katelyn Rose Downey). This meeting creates a moral conundrum for Mrs. Kelly. This heartfelt film is produced by Michael Lindley of Afternoon Pictures and PG Productions. It was Executive Produced by Academy Award winner Serena Armitage. CLODAGH has been selected by the prestigious OSCAR qualifying film festival Cleveland. This film had a predominantly female cast and crew.

Writer and Director Portia A. Buckley grew up between Ireland and England. Shooting primarily on film, Portia’s work focuses on character-driven narratives centered around marginalized, strong-willed, female protagonists. She graduated from Tisch School of the Arts, NYU, with an MFA in Writing and Directing Film. This talented director has been sponsored by the BFI and Kodak. Her previous short BIRTHDAY GIRL won the ‘Kodak Best Shot on Film’ award at Hollyshorts and many more international accolades.

Writer and Producer Michael Lindley is a co-founder of Afternoon Pictures, a film production company telling stories of modern British and Irish life. As a screenwriter, Michael has written for Universal Pictures, Altitude Film Entertainment, Sky Film and Maven Screen Media.

Executive Producer Serena Armitage is a director and producer from North Yorkshire, UK. She is best known for producing the short film STUTTERER, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards, an Irish Film and Television Award and a Critic’s Circle Award.

This wonderful film co-stars Aidan O’Hare (Jackie, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, Sisters Brothers) and Jim Kitson. The film’s incredible cinematography was captured by the award-winning Director of Photography, Jomo Fray.

CLODAGH received its world premiere in January 2024 at Flickerfest, Australia, where it played as part of the opening night ‘Festival Highlights’ programme. In April, CLODAGH will screen at the 48th Cleveland International Film Festival.