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Aisling Connolly Byrne

@ais_talkshop

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Theatre & Filmmaker
Rep: @curtisbrowntftv
Artistic Director: @runofthemillarts // @talkingshopensemble
Often Running🏃‍♀️Always Talking

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NEW OSCAR-QUALIFIED FILM INTERVIEW - LINKS IN BIO: MARY IS MISSING reminds us that the truth is rarely as simple as it first appears. In this unsettling Irish psychological thriller, every witness becomes a puzzle, every answer raises another question, and we find ourselves becoming detectives, searching for the truth alongside Garda Foley. What makes this film so compelling is its ability to keep us guessing while gradually revealing the fragile, complicated human realities beneath the mystery.

Aisling Byrne demonstrates a remarkable understanding of storytelling, balancing suspense, dark humor, and psychological complexity with an ensemble whose performances give the film its distinctive humanity.

Mark Smith’s portrayal of Peter is particularly memorable, bringing depth and authenticity to a story where perception and reality are constantly at odds.

What makes MARY IS MISSING especially compelling is its extraordinary ensemble, with 13 of its 19 cast members being artists with intellectual disabilities. Developed through a collaborative writers’ room, the film places their creativity at the heart of a gripping crime thriller.

But beyond the mystery lies something even more important: a film that gives artists with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to contribute their voices, their creativity, and their extraordinary talents to a story that refuses to underestimate them.

MARY IS MISSING is more than a crime thriller. It is a thought-provoking reminder that understanding another person requires patience, empathy, and the willingness to look beyond appearances.

#film #cinema #shortfilm #oscars #Downsyndrome #autism #intellectualdisabilities #storytelling #filmmaking #filmmaker #bondoncinema #crimethriller #psychologicalthriller #thriller

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Reminder: get yourself to your local newsagent, PRONTO 🏃‍♀️🗞️

Mary Is Missing, Paul Mescal and a bit of Oscar buzz in today’s Irish Mail on Sunday 👀

#PaulMescal #MaryIsMissing #FYC #ForYourConsideration

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Stall the ball… Mary’s off to Foyle! 🎬

We’re delighted to share that Mary Is Missing has been officially selected for the 2026 Foyle Film Festival Light in Motion Competition!

Foyle Film Festival is Northern Ireland’s only Oscar® and BAFTA-affiliated short film competition, so we’re incredibly proud to see Mary joining this year’s competition line-up.

This is another very special stop on a journey that has taken Mary Is Missing to screens across Ireland and around the world, and we can’t WAIT to share our film with another festival audience.

The full competition programme launches on 1st November, so keep an eye out for screening details 👀
And on 29th November, the festival’s category winners will be announced at the Light in Motion Awards Ceremony. For now, we’re just very happy to add those Foyle laurels to Mary’s growing collection! 🙌

@foylefilm @nerve_centre
#MaryIsMissing #FoyleFilmFestival #RunOfTheMill #irishfilm A man in a blue, white and red checked shirt speaks to someone opposite him in a still from Mary Is Missing. Foyle Film Festival 2026 Official Selection laurels appear beside him.

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Whodunit? Whodunwhat? 🧐🎬

Dare we say possibly the most appropriately named festival programme Mary Is Missing could find herself in?

We are PUMPED that Mary is heading to Hobnobben Film Festival in Fort Wayne, Indiana this week 🇺🇸

Mary Is Missing will screen as part of “Whodunit? Whodunwhat?”, an evening of murder, mischief, missing persons and more.

🎬 MARY IS MISSING
📅 Friday 23 October
🕠 5.30pm
📍 Main Theater, Fort Wayne Cinema Center
Fort Wayne, Indiana
🎞️ @hobnobben

Mary’s roadshow rolls on. Next stop, Indiana! 🇮🇪✈️🇺🇸

#MaryIsMissing #HobnobbenFilmFestival #RunOfTheMill #IrishFilm A woman with dark shoulder-length hair looks off to the side in a still from Mary Is Missing. White text and laurels read “Selection, Hobnobben Film Festival 2026.”

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London, baby! 🇬🇧🎬🇮🇪

A few official snaps from the FYC Mary Is Missing Q&A at Charlotte Street Hotel in London.

Following the FYC screening, our Executive Producer Paul Mescal joined Aisling, Killian and Mark for a conversation about Mary Is Missing, how the film came together and the journey it has been on since.

It was a brilliant chance to talk about the making of Mary with a room full of people who had just watched the film on the big screen. We love sharing Mary with new audiences and we love to talk about the process of making our film and the importance of co-creation with our artists.

Huge thanks to @johnarmour for capturing the day so beautifully 📸

Mary’s roadshow rolls on, and we’ve got more screening announcements coming this week. Keep an eye out to see where Mary is heading next! 👀
#MaryIsMissing #RunOfTheMill #IrishFilm #paulmescal Paul Mescal leads a Q&A with the other panelists sitting on stage beside him

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One of the highlights of the Mary Is Missing roadshow of the past few weeks was Paul Mescal having to explain to a screen full of the great and good of London what Fair City is.

Given the film’s cast and crew are stacked with Carrickstown Alumnus it was very fitting that it got a shoutout. @runofthemillarts

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From Killarney to Ballyliffin, Mary is all over Ireland this weekend! 🇮🇪

Mary Is Missing is hitting the big screen at two Irish film festivals this weekend, with screenings in Kerry and Donegal.

💚 KILLARNEY | Saturday 17 October
🎬 Mary Is Missing
🕚 11am
📍 IMC Killarney
🎞️ @kerryintfilmfest
And there’s more! At 3.15pm, director Aisling Byrne, cast member Eoghan Ashe and producer Killian Coyle will be at ANAM Arts and Cultural Centre for Mary Is Missing: A Case Study in Inclusive Filmmaking, part of KIFF’s REEL TALK series.

💛 BALLYLIFFIN | Sunday 18 October
🎬 Mary Is Missing
🕟 4.30pm
📍 Ballyliffin Townhouse
🎞️ @disappearherefilmfest

It’s a big weekend for our little film! We’re delighted to see Mary Is Missing continuing its journey around Ireland and meeting audiences on screens across the country.
Killarney ➡️ Ballyliffin. See you at the there! 🎬

#MaryIsMissing #RunOfTheMill #IrishFilm

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We’re fairly suckin’ diesel now! Mary’s heading to Donegal 💚💛

The Mary Is Missing tour continues this Sunday as we head to Ballyliffin for Disappear Here Film Festival.

From Offaly to Kerry to Donegal, we’re loving seeing Mary Is Missing reach audiences in every corner of Ireland, and we’re delighted to add another stop to the journey this weekend.

🎬 Mary Is Missing
📅 Sunday 18 October
🕟 4.30pm
📍 Ballyliffin Townhouse
🎞️ @disappearherefilmfest

#MaryIsMissing #DisappearHereFilmFestival #RunOfTheMill #IrishFilm A man in a green hoodie rests his head on his hands and smiles. A white laurel graphic reads “Official Selection, Disappear Here Film Festival 2026.”

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Kerry, we’ll be seeing you this Saturday! 💚💛🎬

Mary Is Missing screens at Kerry International Film Festival this Saturday, 17 October at 11am in Killarney.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE. At 3.15pm, we’ll be at ANAM Arts and Cultural Centre for “Mary Is Missing: A Case Study in Inclusive Filmmaking”, part of KIFF’s REEL TALK series.

Director Aisling Byrne, cast member Eoghan Ashe and producer Killian Coyle will talk about how Mary Is Missing was made, from our collaborative writers’ room through to the screen, and what inclusive and accessible co-creation looks like in practice.

The REEL TALK event is supported by the National Talent Academy for Film & TV, an initiative of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, managed by Ardán. The session is free to attend, but booking is required.

We can’t wait to bring Mary to Kerry, share the film with another audience on the big screen, and have the chance to talk about the process behind making it.

See you in the Kingdom! 💚💛

#MaryIsMissing #KerryInternationalFilmFestival #RunOfTheMill #IrishFilm Promotional graphic for Mary Is Missing: A Case Study in Inclusive Filmmaking at Kerry International Film Festival, featuring cast and creatives during the filmmaking process. The event takes place on 17 October at 15:15 in ANAM.

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More of Paul Mescal during the “Mary is Missing” special screening last week in London ✨

📸 via @david.martinez.flo @rhy_w.png

🏷️
#paulmescal #maryismissing

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🎬 The Mary Is Missing roadshow continues!

Today we were in Birr for OFFline Film Festival, where our cast members Derek McSweeney and Lucy Smith joined director Aisling Byrne for a really thoughtful Q&A after the screening.

We loved hearing the questions and conversations that came out of the film, and getting the chance to talk about making Mary Is Missing with another audience. We love sharing Mary with new audiences!

A huge thanks to OFFline Film Festival for having us, and to everyone who came along 💚🤍💛

Next stop… Kerry! 👀🎬

📸 #3 from @offlinefilmfestival

🎬 Directed by @ais_talkshop
✍️ Co-written by Aisling and @caitrionaemmadaly
⭐ Executive producer: Paul Mescal
🎦 Produced by @killiancoyle
🎥 Filmed by @arcade.film
🫶 Full cast and crew credits at the link in our bio

🙏 ROTM participation at this event was supported by the National Talent Academy for Film & TV. The NTA Film & TV is an initiative of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and is managed by Ardán @nationaltalentacademies Five people smiling together in front of an OFFline Film Festival backdrop at Birr Theatre & Arts Centre. Two members of the group have Down syndrome.

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