Normal People's India Mullen to direct Bray-set short film featuring Maya O’Shea and Toni O’Rourke

Normal People's India Mullen is set to direct a Bray-set short film Lia & Ro.

Starring Maya O’Shea (Blade Runner 2099, Verdigris) and Toni O’Rourke (God’s Creatures, Gangs of London) as sisters navigating a summer afternoon in Bray, the production will feature an array of Irish talent on and off screen.

The film will be cut by Normal People multi-award-winning editor Nathan Nugent, and scored by composer Stephen Rennicks. Eoin McLoughlin, known for his visual work for Fontaines D.C., will serve as cinematographer.

Lia & Ro follows Ro as she takes a supervised day trip from a psychiatric hospital with her sister Lia on her 30th birthday. Among beach crowds, arcade noises, and childhood memories, Ro tries to reconnect with her sister and the world she currently feels detached from. As per description, the film explores "themes of sisterhood and recovery, framed through a quietly observational lens".

"Lia & Ro was born out of a conversation about the strange coming-of-age that happens at 30," said Mullen.

"When you’re launched from the frivolity of your 20s and suddenly everyone’s path feels very separate. Some people are buying houses or getting married and others are getting sober or having huge moments of self reflection. I wanted to explore that emotional gap and how lonely mental health recovery can feel amid societal pressures to 'progress'"

Lia & Ro is currently in post-production. More information about the short film is yet to be announced.

India Mullen is a Sandycove-born actress, artist, and photographer. She is best known for her roles in the Virgin Media One TV series Red Rock, The Vanishing Triangle, as well as the miniseries Normal People, where she played Peggy.