Berlin 2024: Everything we know about ‘Small Things Like These’
The 2024 Berlin International Film Festival will be opened with Tim Mielant’s historical drama Small Things Like These, written by Enda Walsh and based on the 2021 novel of the same name by Claire Keegan. The book version won the ‘Orwell Prize for Political Fiction’ and was nominated for the Booker Prize.
Cillian Murphy leads the cast, which also features Eileen Walsh, Emily Watson, Michelle Fairley, Ciaran Hinds and Clare Dunne. Taking place in a small Irish town in 1985, Murphy plays a coal merchant who discovers something that makes him question the role of his church within his community.
The film also explores the Magdalene Laundries, Roman Catholic-ran institutions in Ireland that housed “fallen women”. It was estimated that around 30,000 such women were confined to these secretive asylums, leading to revelations about their existence.
Ahead of the release of the film at the Berlinale, we’ve compiled answers to all the big questions surrounding Small Things Like These, from its plot to when the film might be released beyond its Berlin Film Festival debut.
What is the plot of Small Things Like These?
Tim Mielant’s film Small Things Like These is based on the 2021 novel of the same name by Claire Keegan. The novel takes place during the weeks leading up to Christmas in 1985 in the Irish town of New Ross, County Wexford.
It focuses on the main character, Bill Furlong (played by Cillian Murphy), a coal merchant and family man in preparation for his busiest part of the year. While delivering an order to his local convent one morning, Bill comes across something that causes him to confront his past and question the role that the church plays in his society.
Who is in the cast for Small Things Like These?
The cast of Small Things Like These has been confirmed and included Cillian Murphy of Oppenheimer and 28 Days Later, Eileen Walsh of Miss Julie, Maze and Wolf, Emily Watson of Breaking the Waves and Punch-Drunk Love.
The likes of Michelle Fairley of Game of Thrones, Ciaran Hinds of There Will Be Blood and Belfast, Claire Dunne of Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Ian O’Reilly are also part of the cast for the Tim Mielants film.
When will Small Things Like These be released?
Small Things Like These is set to get its first release at the Berlin Film Festival on February 15th. The Berlinale will run from that date until February 24th, and Tim Mielant’s film will serve as the opening feature for the 74th iteration of the festival.
A wider theatrical release has not been confirmed yet, and there are no currently announced plans to bring the film to home streaming services.
Does Small Things Like These have a trailer?
The full trailer for Tim Mielant’s film Small Things Like These is not out just yet, but this clip was released on February 14th, 2024. Check it out below.
