Sean Cronin’s ‘Our Kid’ Premiered at the Raindance Film Festival
London – The Merseyside coming-of-age drama Our Kid premiered at the Raindance Film Festival
Directed by Sean Cronin, Our Kid follows the Reillys, a working-class Liverpool family who use humour to deal with adversity.
The film stars 12-year-old Poppie Jae Hughes in her debut role as Laura Reilly, a gifted young footballer dreaming of playing professionally someday. Her older brother Thomas, played by Louis Emerick, is a devoted Tranmere Rovers fan who has cerebral palsy. Despite his challenges, Thomas is Laura’s biggest hero and role model. His charity bike ride to raise money, overcoming his disability with determination, inspires Laura and their community.
Ricky Tomlinson, Leanne Best, and Mark Moraghan co-star as members of the Reilly family. The film premiered on October 30th at the Raindance Film Festival in London to positive reception. Written by
Daniel P Lewis who has channelled his family’s real experiences in to the script. “Thomas was inspired by my cousin Paul and I felt very straongly about this inspiring story.”
John McArdle playing Alan Reilly admitted he agreed without thinking twice: “it’s about family, about Liverpool and community and the catering was second to none.”
Cronin spoke about casting Poppie for the main role: “We saw a lot of self tapes but when we saw Poppie’s, it was a slam dunk.” Being her first leading role in a feature film, Poppie admitted from the stage during the Q&A that she enjoyed playing this role.
Connor McIntyre who brilliantly plays Joe Reilly admitted jokingly he tried for about two years ‘to get out of this role’. “The script was always good and Daniel one of the most persuasive people that I know; and I’m so glad he is.”
Director Sean Cronin tenderly depicts Laura’s coming-of-age as she tries to achieve her dream against the odds. With its Liverpool setting and themes of family, perseverance, and believing in yourself, Our Kid promises to be a crowd-pleasing hometown story.
The film will make you laugh through tears. it’s a moving story that talks about loss, grieving and dealing with life’s adversities but with a healthy dollop of humour that never lets you go too deep into the drama of the situation. Lewis and Cronin have managed to achieve a perfect pace allowing actors and scenes to ‘breathe’ in all the right places. Hughes’s stellar lead performance has truly stole the show and will no doubt pave the way for her future success.
Editor in Chief of Ikon London Magazine, journalist, film producer and founder of The DAFTA Film Awards (The DAFTAs).
