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ACCLAIMED WRITER RODDY Doyle is known for being able to accurately portray life in working class Dublin, and for his next project he’s chosen to focus on a family experiencing a very real problem.

Rosie, a film directed by Paddy Breathnach (director of Viva) and based on a screenplay written by Doyle, is about a young family who find themselves homeless and living in hotels. It’s a situation that’s being experienced by hundreds of families in Ireland in 2018.

Rosie was shot in and around Dublin and stars Sarah Greene and Moe Dunford as Rosie and John Paul, the parents of four young children who find themselves homeless. When their landlord sells their home, they are thrust into a situation that they didn’t anticipate.

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The film follows as they try desperately to find places to stay, and examines the impact of the situation on the children and parents.

‘’I was angry when I started work on the script that became Rosie,” Doyle has said about the film. “I was proud to be involved in its production, and it was a pleasure to watch Paddy Breathnach, the Element producers, and the cast and crew at work.”

Speaking about the film being shown at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival, he said:

I wish, in many ways, that I hadn’t felt the need to write Rosie – but I can’t wait for Irish audiences to see it in October.

The filmmakers say that Rosie “examines how even in times of crises, the love and strength of a family can endure.”

Rosie is produced by Emma Norton, Rory Gilmartin and Juliette Bonass. Roddy Doyle serves as executive producer alongside Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe for Element Pictures, who previously brought us The Lobster and Room. Dearbhla Regan is executive producer for Screen Ireland.

The film is backed by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, RTÉ and Element Pictures Distribution.

Rosie is due for general release in Ireland on 12 October, and will get shown to an international audience when it’s screened at the prestigious BFI London Film Festival in October.