Aidan Gillen Is a 1980s Pop Star Dealing With a Moral Issue in Kathryn Ferguson’s ‘Nostalgie’

Things simply aren’t what they utilized to be! Or are they? And is that great, bad, or unsightly? Nostalgie, a fiction brief directed by Kathryn Ferguson, the Belfast-based filmmaker understood for the similarity Sinéad O’Connor documentary Absolutely Nothing Compares, will raise concerns like that in your mind. And more!

” A 1980s popstar gets an unexpected invite to carry out, pulling him out of musical retirement and into an ethical problem,” checks out a summary for the 19-minute brief that stars Aidan Gillen ( Video Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders, Kin, Mayor of Kingstown, The Wire). Jessica Reynolds ( Kneecap) and Michael Smiley ( Bad Sis, Alien: Earth, The Lobster, Blue Lights) likewise function in the movie.

Based upon a narrative by Wendy Erskine, Nostalgie was composed by Stacey Gregg and produced by Stille Productions and Tara Films Production, in association with World Originals and Hopefield. Co-financed by Film4, the executive manufacturers were Lucy Pullin, Neil Chordia, Tim Clark, Amy O’Hara, Eleanor Emptage, and Ferguson. The manufacturers were Kath Mattock, Marie-Thérèse Mackle, and Marc Robinson, with modifying by Mick Mahon and Edel McDonnell. Robbie Ryan functioned as the director of photography, with the tunes and score thanks to none besides Bastille’s Dan Smith.

Among 4 shorts supported by Film4 at the 69th edition of the BFI London Movie Celebration (LFF), it will opening night on Friday, together with other shorts under the style “Pulling the Carpet Out.”

Ferguson talked about Nostalgie, the weight of history, and why, regardless of her track record for doc work, she is preparing to make more fiction functions.

How did you come on board to direct this imaginary story after going far on your own in docs?

Well, I’m Irish, undoubtedly, and I had actually simply made Absolutely Nothing Compares, my function documentary about Sinéad O’Connor. The manufacturer in England connected to me, stating: “Have you considered drama?” And I stated: “Well, I would enjoy to do it.” However I’m a documentarian, and undoubtedly that’s rather a long shot. However she stated, “Have you considered drama? And have you check out the work of Wendy Erskine?” Wendy Erskine is a remarkable Belfast born and reproduced author. I’m from Belfast. And I was generally sent her manuscript of a book of narratives that she had actually composed a number of years earlier by the manufacturer Kath Mattock.

So I invested a little bit of time going through this book, and all of her narratives are unbelievable. They are contemporary myths about Northern Ireland today, however it was Nostalgie that truly leapt out to me, since it simply felt so deeply cinematic and appropriate. And since I ‘d come off the back of making a movie about an artist who frequently has actually had their work co-opted. Sinéad was being tortured by Trump for several years, with him utilizing her tune[“Nothing Compares 2 U“] So, Nostalgie simply truly talked to me as a filmmaker. I believed it’s a really fascinating take on this concept of music slipping out of out of one’s hands. Let’s attempt and bring this to life!

Did you ever visualize it as a function movie?

Quite, it was a brief for me. It was a truly fantastic opportunity to be able to take such strong product and after that resolve the procedure. We handled to generate this unbelievable script author, Stacey Gregg, who’s likewise from Belfast, and it was the procedure of overcoming this brief with Stacey and Wendy. It simply seemed like a truly self-contained story.

It was remarkable simply to in fact belong to that procedure and establishing it from page to screen, which took a little bit of time. And since it’s a movie about these tunes, about this artist, and about his words, we then needed to compose the tunes also. So that ended up being a substantial part of the imaginative procedure. And I dealt with Dan Smith, who’s the diva of Bastille, and Wendy to truly create the best lyrics for this tune.

To prevent spoilers, I’ll simply state I liked the music of the tune, however then likewise got afraid and frightened when I saw what occurs with it …

Well, it definitely required to be that. It required to be practically like a style tune.

[SPOILER WARNING: The next question and answer contain spoilers!]
The lead character’s tune, we discover, is being utilized as an anthem of sorts by some individuals who have a previous loaded with violence. Is that based upon any real-life story?

The initial story is based upon the truth of paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland taking extremely well-known vocalists’ music and utilizing it in this method. One example is “Just the very best: by Tina Turner, which is a signature tune in Northern Ireland for a paramilitary group and has actually been for years. It was this concept of taking something with such an appealing hook, and the lyrics being misunderstood.

How at an early stage did you understand that Aidan Gillen would play your lead character, and what did you search for in the casting procedure?

We required a star who might stand and sing. So that ended up being a substantial part of the casting procedure. And we were incredibly lucky to be able to get Aiden Gillen, a remarkable piece of casting. He can sing, he’s Irish. He is playing an Englishman, however comprehends the complexities and intricacies of this story. And after that he had the ability to stand and carry out to a space of wild-eyed males. It was made complex enough searching for the best individual, however we were delighted with Aidan’s efficiency. He was unbelievable!

The remainder of the cast is likewise remarkable …

Yes, we had this unbelievable Northern Irish cast come on board. Jessica Reynolds, who simply came off the back of Kneecap, and Michael Smiley. I simply stood there believing: “How did this exercise like this??” It was a remarkable experience, really, truthfully. It was truly exhilarating.

I wonder: Do you prepare to do more operate in fiction and drama or are you going to go back to docs? What are you dealing with next?

I’m simply ending up a brand-new function documentary at the minute, which will ideally be out in early 2026.

Can you share any information or do you have NDAs to adhere to?

I can’t state much. However it’s a really natural action on from Absolutely Nothing Compares

Any fiction strategies?

Yes, I’m beginning to compose a script, beginning to get a treatment done, generally, for a drama function that I will ultimately wish to attempt and get off the ground. Yeah, simply the experience I had on this brief was so powerful, and I truly, really discover it thrilling and amazing. It’s absolutely whetted my hunger to do a lot more.

For more LFF 2025 shorts protection, take a look at:
Sheep and Mob Mindset: ‘Flock’ Writer-Director Mac Nixon Wishes To Reframe Welsh Identity on Screen
and
‘ Magid/ Zafar’ Writer-Director Luís Hindman Sets the Beat to Check Out South Asian Masculinity