Written in 2022, Patrick Ireland‘s ‘Ill Fares The Land’ is continuing to make a stamp on the festival circuit with its incredibly timely and thought provoking narrative. Set in a small, forgotten coastal British town, similar to where the filmmaker grew up, Patrick imaginatively brings to life a literal example of the ever increasing dissonance between disregarded working class communities and those who have come to seek refuge in the United Kingdom. ‘Ill Fares The Land’ effortlessly broaches a number of big issues but doesn’t assault the audience with hopelessness. Through the point of view of a young, perturbed boy whose family life is almost unbearable, we are offered a beacon of hope.
‘Ill Fares the Land’ will be screening at the upcoming 7th edition of Brighton Rocks on Sunday the 30th as part of our Best of BRIFF at Dukes at Komedia Picturehouse.
I wanted to explore, with an unflinching eye, the radicalisation of these sorts of communities, set against the backdrop of the UK’s so-called ‘migrant crisis’, growing inequality and social atomisation.
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