''Kings'' is a 2007 Irish film written & directed by

Tom Collins The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. First memorialized in writing in 1876 by Jerry Thomas, "the father of American mixology", this "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically serv ...

and based on Jimmy Murphy's play ''

The Kings of the Kilburn High Road ''The Kings of the Kilburn High Road'' is a play by Irish playwright Jimmy Murphy first produced by Red Kettle Theatre Company at the Garter Lane Theatre Waterford Ireland in 2000. The first American production was staged by the Rochester Communi ...

''. The film is bilingual, having both

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

dialogue. It premiered at the

Taormina Film Festival Taormina Film Fest (TFF) is a film festival that began in 1955 under the name Rassegna Cinematografica Internazionale di Messina e Taormina. The exhibition, which moved permanently to Taormina in 1971, has hosted over the years many stars of inter ...

(Italy) in June 2007, and was selected as Ireland's official entry for the 2008 Academy Awards in the best foreign-language film category. The film tells the story of a group of Irish friends who, after emigrating to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

30 years previously, meet for the funeral of a friend. In 2008, the Irish postal service, An Post, issued a series of stamps honouring the Irish film industry. Colm Meaney, as Joe Mullan, was featured on the 55 cent stamp.

Plot

In the mid-1970s a group of young men leave the

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially recog ...

, bound for

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and filled with ambition for a better life. After thirty years, they meet again at the funeral of their youngest friend, Jackie. The film intersperses flashbacks of a lost youth in Ireland with the harsh realities of modern life. For some the thirty years has been hard, working in building sites across Britain. Slowly the truth about Jackie's death become clear and the friends discover they need each other more than ever. However, by the end, the friends split up for good, going their separate ways.

Cast

Awards

In 2007, Tom Collins won the Directors Guild of America / Ireland New Finders Award. The film itself was nominated for a record 14

Irish Film and Television Awards Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

(IFTAs) in 2008, – going on to win 5 IFTAs, including Best Irish Language Film

IFTA Awards The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) is an all-Ireland organisation focused on film and television. It has about 1000 members, and is based in Dublin, with branches in London and Los Angeles. The IFTA now holds separate ceremonies for the ...

(2008)- Won – *''Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Feature Film'' – Brendan Conroy *''Best Editing'' – Dermot Diskin *''Best Original Score'' – Pol Brennan *''Best Sound'' –

Ken Galvin Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

Ronan Hill Conleth Seamus Eoin Croiston Hill (born 24 November 1964) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has performed on stage in productions in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the United States. He has won two Laurence Olivier Awards and received two Ton ...

Dominic Weaver Dominic is a name common among Roman Catholics and other Latin-Romans as a male given name. Originally from the late Roman-Italic name "Dominicus", its translation means "Lordly", "Belonging to God" or "of the Master". Variations include: Domini ...

*''Special Irish Language Award'' Nominated – *''Best Actor in a Lead Role in a Feature Film'' –

Colm Meaney Colm J. Meaney (; ga, Colm Ó Maonaigh; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor known for playing Miles O'Brien in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He has guest-starred on many T ...

*''Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Feature Film'' –

Donal O'Kelly Donal O'Kelly (born 1958) is an Irish playwright and actor. Early life O'Kelly was born in Dublin in 1958. He worked in the Irish Civil Service as a computer programmer, before quitting to become active in theatre and politics. Career O'Kelly' ...

*''Best Costume Design'' –

Maggie Donnelly Maggie is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret. Maggie may refer to: People Women * Maggie Adamson, Scottish musician * Maggie Aderin-Pocock (born 1968), British scientist * Maggie Alderson (born 1959), Aus ...

*''Best Director of Photography'' – P.J. Dillon *''Best Hair & Make-Up'' –

Muriel Bell Muriel Emma Bell (4 January 1898 – 2 May 1974) was a New Zealand nutritionist and medical researcher. Early life Bell was born in Murchison, New Zealand on 4 January 1898, the daughter of Thomas, a farmer, and Eliza (). Bell attended the lo ...

Pamela Smyth Pamela may refer to: *''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'', a novel written by Samuel Richardson in 1740 *Pamela (name), a given name and, rarely, a surname *Pamela Spence, a Turkish pop-rock singer. Known as her stage name "Pamela" * MSC ''Pamela'', ...

*''Best Production Design'' – David Craig *''Best Director for Film'' –

*''Best Script for Film'' –

*''Best Film'' – Jackie Larkin,

References

External links

* * *{{Rotten tomatoes, kings 2007 films Irish-language films 2007 drama films Irish drama films English-language Irish films