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14th Jul 2020

Irish short film ‘How To Fall In Love In A Pandemic’ long-listed for Oscars 2021

Jade Hayden

An incredible achievement.

Irish short film How To Fall In Love In A Pandemic has been long-listed for an Oscar.

The documentary, by Co. Meath filmmaker Michael-David McKernan, details the experience of a pair of creatives who are pushed together after just two weeks of knowing each other, during a time when people are suppose to be apart.

Premiering at the Galway Film Fleadh earlier this year, the film scooped up the Best Short Documentary award, allowing it to qualify for next year’s Academy Awards.

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Emerging from lockdown with this… I’m thrilled to be premiering a new film at @galwayfilm in July. How to Fall in Love in a Pandemic is a short documentary that was shot (almost) entirely on an iPhone and shows how you can fast-track matching on tinder to living together. The soundtrack has new music from @daithimusic1 and also features @meltybrains – massive thanks lads. Great to have pal @ste_murray designing this beautiful poster. And the whole project is kindly supported by @artscouncilireland. . This is a pretty personal story and it’s scary to be putting it out into the world – so a huge thank you to those close to me who encouraged the making of this one, especially @mimimw. I hope you can join the online screening on July 10th. . #GalwayFilmFleadh #FilmFleadh32 #irishfilm #filmfleadh

A post shared by Michael-David McKernan (@michaeldavidmckernan) on

“It is truly a huge honour to win Best Short Documentary at Galway Film Fleadh,” said McKernan.

“For me, the Fleadh is the mecca of Irish film and I was so proud to screen alongside some amazing films this year. I can’t wait to see how far this film can travel.”

The film follows Michael-David and Mimi, two filmmakers who meet on Tinder in Chicago and spend a weekend together before Michael-David returns home to Ireland.

Two weeks later Mimi arrives in Dublin for a five day trip, only to find that the country has began closing the economy due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Mimi’s return flight is cancelled and she is forced to live with Michael-David indefinitely. Using their phones, they document the acceleration of their relationship during this uncertain time… and try to make sense of their new romance. 

A shortlist of films for the Oscars 2021 will be selected in early February, with nominations happening in March.

Topics:

film