Award winning Irish film about conversion therapy debuting this weekend

Sounds like a haunting watch.

An award winning Irish film about conversion therapy is debuting this weekend. The short, A White Horse, tells the the story of a young girl named Bridget who has escaped a mental institution in Co Cork. Entering a phone booth to call her parents, it transpires that Bridget had been locked away following a relationship with a fellow schoolgirl, a relationship that was not just frowned upon but illegal in 1970s Ireland. Directed by Shaun O'Connor, the film details how mental hospitals in Ireland were once used as catch-alls for people considered ‘troublesome’ or ‘abnormal.' O'Connor was inspired to make the short after learning that gay conversion therapy was widespread across the UK and Ireland in the 60s and 70s - and is still legal today. The film, which stars Young Offenders Cora Fenton, recently picked up the prestigious Best Irish Short award at the Foyle Film Festival, putting it on the long list for this year's Oscars. A White Horse has also won Best Irish Short at the Kerry Film Festival, Best Overall at the Richard Harris Film Festival, Best Independent Short at the Underground Cinema Film Festival, and Best Production Design at Kinsale Sharks. The film is this weekend debuting at the Dublin Arabic Film Festival 2021 as part of the Jim Sheridan Short Film Programme. You can find out more here.