At Home and Abroad

Award-winning writer-director Patricia Kelly’s latest feature revolves around an unlikely friendship between two very different women. Recently retired and rather lonely, middle-aged Marian takes a temporary job as a census enumerator. While duly working on collecting census information, she meets a feisty teenager named Jewel who has been living as a prostitute after being abandoned by her mother. Gradually, they develop an unlikely bond, as both are outsiders in their different ways. With this unexpected and decidedly unusual ally at her side, Marian soon realizes that she can forge a new and empowering future, maybe for both of them. Witty and endearing, and winner of the Best Independent Film Award at the 2023 Galway Film Festival, Verdigris features impressive performances by both Geraldine McAlinden (Bad Sisters) and Maya O’Shea (Normal People).