On the day of the most important football match in Irish history, an expectant father is torn between witnessing the miracle of childbirth and the miracle of reaching the quarter finals of the World Cup. Now you can watch the new Irish short film, produced by the famous Weinstein Company, in full.
The Nation Holds Its Breath has been likened by Harvey Weinstein to the Chicago Cubs’ monumental World Series win. The Irish short was chosen as one of four films to be financed by Lexus and produced by The Weinstein Company. It was the opening film of the Raindance Film Festival in London and has been screened in Vancouver and Napa Valley as well as having its Irish premiere as part of the Dublin Film Festival.
Written and directed by Kev Cahill, he says the team were blown away to be chosen by the Weinstein Company “because the story is so Irish but I guess sport and babies are universal.”
“It’s about a young couple sitting down to watch Ireland-v-Romania in the 1990 World Cup and then she goes into labour. The rest of the film is set in the hospital. He sneaks off to watch the game and leaves her to have the baby.”
The title is of course taken from the iconic words uttered by legendary RTE commentator George Hamilton during the penalty shootout in Italy and the film has been earning rave reviews being described by Vulture Hound as “nigh-on perfect.”
Harvey Weinstein one of the men behind independent film giants Miramax and The Weinstein Company called it “a universal story” which would resonate with any sports follower, comparing the scenario to a Chicago Cubs’ fan whose wife goes into labour during the final game of the World Series which ended a 108 year wait for victory. He said the Irish story is “told very beautifully visually.”
The Nation Holds Its Breath, along with the three other award winning films from Season 3, Game, Friday Night, and MESSiAH are available on www.LexusShortFilms.com. Season 4 of the Lexus Short Films competition is now open for submissions.
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