Written by Roddy Doyle, starring Sarah Greene and Moe Dunford, and directed by Paddy Breathnach
ROSIE follows a brief, intense 36 hour period in the lives of a Dublin family (ROSIE, JOHN PAUL and their children KAYLEIGH (13), MILLIE (8), ALFIE (6) and MADISON (4)) who find themselves homeless after their landlord sells their rented home.
At the heart of the story is Rosie. We watch as she searches for emergency accommodation while juggling the challenges of normal family life – the school run; washing clothes; toilet stops; snack time; homework. At first, Rosie manages to find a hotel room from the Social Welfare Housing list. It’s cramped and only for a night, but better than nothing.
The next morning the search begins again. Despite Rosie’s best efforts, the strain takes its toll on the kids. At the end of school day, Kayleigh can’t be found. The search for a room is replaced by the search for Kayleigh. Eventually they find her at a friend’s, just metres away from their old home. The youngest kids think that they’ve come back to their old house and rush to the door. Confusion reigns and emotions run high. Rosie and John Paul do their best to keep spirits up, but are both confounded by the situation they’ve found themselves in. This shouldn’t be their life.
Rosie keeps searching for somewhere to stay, but as the day draws to a close nowhere is available. Rosie and John Paul, determined not to split the family, finally accept that they have no choice but to find a quiet carpark and try to settle the four kids down for the night. The car is too small for all of them. Rosie lies next to her children, desperate that this is what things have come too; outside John Paul sits sentinel, watching his family as night falls.
Rosie was produced by Element Pictures in association with RTE with support from Screen Ireland.
