''AfterLife'' is a 2003

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

set in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

directed by

Alison Peebles Alison Peebles (born 1953) is a Scottish actress, director, and writer in theatre, film, and television. She is a co-founder of Communicado, a Scottish theatre company. Early life Peebles trained as a Painter at Edinburgh College of Art. Career ...

and written by

Andrea Gibb Andrea Gibb is a Scottish screenwriter and actress. Early life and education Andrea Gibb was born in Greenock, Scotland. She studied drama and sociology at Glasgow University and then did a post-graduate teaching degree at Manchester Polytechn ...

. It stars

Lindsay Duncan Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Scottish actress. On stage, she has won two Olivier Awards (for ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' and ''Private Lives'') and a Tony Award (for ''Private Lives''). She has starred in several plays by H ...

Kevin McKidd Kevin McKidd (born 9 August 1973) is a Scottish actor and television director. Before playing the role of Dr. Owen Hunt in ''Grey's Anatomy'', for which he is widely known, McKidd appeared as Tommy Mackenzie in Danny Boyle's '' Trainspotting'' ...

Paula Sage Paula Sage (born 28 November 1980) is a Scottish actress, Special Olympics netball player, and advocate for people with Down syndrome. Early life Sage was adopted as an infant. Her parents are Alan and Mary Sage. Her father is a university le ...

, and

James Laurenson James Laurenson (born 17 February 1940) is a New Zealand stage and screen actor. Early life Laurenson was born in Marton, North Island, New Zealand. He was a student at Canterbury University College in Christchurch (now University of Canter ...

. ''Afterlife'' won the Audience Award at The

Edinburgh Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

2003. Sage's role won her a BAFTA Scotland award for best first time performance and Best Actress in the

Bratislava International Film Festival The Bratislava International Film Festival (also known as Bratislava IFF) is an international film festival established in 1999 and held annually in Bratislava, Slovakia. Apart from the international competition programme, it also regularly feature ...

, 2004.

Plot

An ambitious Scottish journalist is forced to choose between his high-flying career or caring for his younger sister who has

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

Cast

as May Brogan *

as Kenny Brogan *

as Roberta Brogan *

as Professor Wilkinshaw *

Shirley Henderson Shirley Henderson (born 24 November 1965) is a Scottish actress. Her accolades include two Scottish BAFTAs, a VFCC Award and an Olivier Award, as well as BAFTA, BIFA, London Critics' Circle, Chlotrudis, Gotham, and Canadian Screen Award ...

as Ruby *

Fiona Bell Fiona Bell is a British actress, known for her role as Sergeant Angela McLeod in the ITV drama series ''Soldier Soldier'' (1997-1998), as Donna Killick in the BBC One crime drama series ''Shetland'' (2018) and as Hilary in the ''BBC One'' drama ...

as Lucy *

Anthony Strachan Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

as Mike *

Emma D'Inverno Emma may refer to: * Emma (given name) Film * ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown * ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow * ''Emma'' (1996 TV film), a British television film starring Kate Be ...

as Rosa Mendoza *

Eddie Marsan Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008). He has feature ...

as Walters Jez *

Isla Blair Isla Blair Glover (born 29 September 1944) is a British actress and singer. She made her first stage appearance in 1963 as Philia in the London debut of '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''. Early life and education Isla Blair w ...

as Jackson, Dr *Stuart Davids as Big Tony *Julie Austin as Foghorn Heather *Martin Carroll as Bingo manager *Maureen Carr as Cissie *Molly Innes as Social worker *Isabelle Joss as Care home nurse *Julie Wilson Nimmo as Hospital nurse *Alison Peebles as Radiographer

External links

Film4 Search results for AfterLife
* * 2003 films Down syndrome in film Scottish films English-language Scottish films 2000s English-language films Films about disability {{2000s-Scotland-film-stub