New Ross, 1985. Bill Furlong is a hard-working coal merchant, doing his best to support his family amid the challenging conditions of 1980s Ireland. In the lead-up to Christmas, Bill makes a morning delivery to the local convent. There, an encounter with one of the convent’s traumatised residents shakes him to his very core. It forces him to ask questions about the nuns’ conduct that nobody else dares say aloud.

Based on Claire Keegan’s novel, Small Things Like These explores one man’s efforts to confront the culture of silence and complicity in Catholic Ireland. Starring Cillian Murphy in his first leading role since his Oscar-winning turn in Oppenheimer, the film also features Emily Watson as the convent’s powerful Mother Superior.

Directed by Tim Mielants | 96 mins | Cert 12 | English language