Its not easy to tackle a gruesome subject matter with humor.
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DEADLINE:What was the inspiration behind this short?
The younger brother had Down syndrome and the older brother was there as a caretaker.
AN IRISH GOODBYE, James Martin, 2022. © Floodlight Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
[I noticed their dynamic] was a typical argumentative, fiery, brotherly relationship.
So, I found that kind of duality and juxtaposition of those two things compelling and interesting.
What exactly is the meaning behindAn Irish Goodbyeto you both?
And how did you manage to tread that delicate balance between sadness and comedy?
BERKELEY:Its about reconnection and redemption as well.
And its never on the cards for either of those characters at the beginning of this film.
And then also just about family.
ROSS WHITE:With the dark comedy, thats something that were always really drawn to.
And maybe theres a moment of comedy followed directly by a moment of sincerity and earnest performance.
So that was always key for us.
And then we were like, Thats our guy.
We need to engineer the whole project around him.
And it just happened from there.
That was my first window into that.
Its like, that is the least exciting thing about this character.
We wanted to write this character that is so multifaceted.
Who is mischievous, full of heart, and full of swearing.
And it just felt, when we met James, hes got so much about him beyond his disability.
Theres so many more interesting things about him.
