lúbtha
'lúbtha' | Short Film written & directed by Ethan McDowell | Produced by Ethan McDowell & Lucy Carruthers | Cinematography by Joseph Hobbs
lúbtha is a short film inspired by true events and follows the story of a teenager dealing with his sexuality whilst having to grow up in early 90s Northern Ireland. As physical and mental abuse become a daily struggle, Fintan retreats into a world of anger and silence. With no solution on the horizon, he yearns to escape from the small town he’s been trapped in all his life, bringing nothing but his younger brother. As he comes closer to planning his journey to freedom, one night he is shown the reality of acceptance and love.
lúbtha was a student production that was produced in 2018, with a crew and cast of 10, very little money, but a tonne of drive and passion from everyone that was involved. It was the first real project that the team had worked on, but it was the beginning of something much bigger. The short has went on to be nominated at various film festivals, even bagging ‘Best Drama’ and ‘Best Film’ and being selected at the BAFTA qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival, and has now clocked up over 700,000 views online - something we had never imagined to happen.
