Things just aren’t what they was! Or are they? And is that good, bad, or ugly? Nostalgie, a fiction short directed by Kathryn Ferguson, the Belfast-based filmmaker known for the likes of Sinéad O’Connor documentary Nothing Compares, will raise questions like that in your mind. And more!
“A Eighties popstar receives a surprising invitation to perform, pulling him out of musical retirement and right into a moral dilemma,” reads a synopsis for the 19-minute short that stars Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders, Kin, Mayor of Kingstown, The Wire). Jessica Reynolds (Kneecap) and Michael Smiley (Bad Sisters, Alien: Earth, The Lobster, Blue Lights) also feature within the film.
Based on a brief story by Wendy Erskine, Nostalgie was written by Stacey Gregg and produced by Stille Productions and Tara Movies Production, in association with Globe Originals and Hopefield. Co-financed by Film4, the chief producers were Lucy Pullin, Neil Chordia, Tim Clark, Amy O’Hara, Eleanor Emptage, and Ferguson. The producers were Kath Mattock, Marie-Thérèse Mackle, and Marc Robinson, with editing by Mick Mahon and Edel McDonnell. Robbie Ryan served because the director of photography, with the songs and rating courtesy of none aside from Bastille’s Dan Smith.
Considered one of 4 shorts supported by Film4 on the 69th edition of the BFI London Film Festival (LFF), it’s going to world premiere on Friday, together with other shorts under the theme “Pulling the Rug Out.”
Ferguson discussed Nostalgie, the burden of history, and why, despite her fame for doc work, she is planning to make more fiction features.
How did you come on board to direct this fictional story after making a reputation for yourself in docs?
Well, I’m Irish, obviously, and I had just made Nothing Compares, my feature documentary about Sinéad O’Connor. The producer in England reached out to me, saying: “Have you ever thought of drama?” And I said: “Well, I might like to do it.” But I’m a documentarian, and clearly that’s quite a protracted shot. But she said, “Have you ever thought of drama? And have you ever read the work of Wendy Erskine?” Wendy Erskine is a tremendous Belfast born and bred author. I’m from Belfast. And I used to be principally sent her manuscript of a book of short stories that she had written a few years ago by the producer Kath Mattock.
So I spent a little bit of time reading through this book, and all of her short stories are incredible. They’re modern fables about Northern Ireland today, but it surely was Nostalgie that basically jumped out to me, since it just felt so deeply cinematic and relevant. And since I’d come off the back of constructing a movie about an artist who often has had their work co-opted. Sinéad was being tortured by Trump for a few years, with him using her song [“Nothing Compares 2 U“]. So, Nostalgie just really spoke to me as a filmmaker. I assumed it’s a really interesting tackle this concept of music slipping out of out of 1’s hands. Let’s try and produce this to life!
Did you ever envision it as a feature film?
Very much, it was a brief for me. It was a very wonderful likelihood to give you the option to take such strong material after which work through the method. We managed to herald this incredible script author, Stacey Gregg, who’s also from Belfast, and it was the means of working through this short with Stacey and Wendy. It just felt like a very self-contained story.
It was fascinating just to really be a part of that process and developing it from page to screen, which took a little bit of time. And since it’s a movie about these songs, about this musician, and about his words, we then had to jot down the songs as well. In order that became an enormous a part of the creative process. And I worked with Dan Smith, who’s the lead singer of Bastille, and Wendy to actually provide you with the precise lyrics for this song.
Kathryn Ferguson
To avoid spoilers, I’ll just say I loved the music of the song, but then also got scared and horrified after I saw what happens with it…
Well, it definitely needed to be that. It needed to be almost like a theme tune.
[SPOILER WARNING: The next question and answer contain spoilers!]
The protagonist’s song, we discover out, is getting used as an anthem of sorts by some individuals who have a past filled with violence. Is that based on any real-life story?
The unique story relies on the truth of paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland taking very famous singers’ music and using it in this manner. One example is “Simply the Best: by Tina Turner, which is a theme song in Northern Ireland for a paramilitary group and has been for many years. It was this concept of taking something with such a catchy hook, and the lyrics being misconstrued.
How early on did you recognize that Aidan Gillen would play your protagonist, and what did you search for within the casting process?
We would have liked an actor who could get up and sing. In order that became an enormous a part of the casting process. And we were extremely fortunate to give you the option to get Aiden Gillen, a tremendous piece of casting. He can sing, he’s Irish. He’s playing an Englishman, but understands the intricacies and complexities of this story. After which he was capable of get up and perform to a room of wild-eyed men. It was complicated enough trying to search out the precise person, but we were thrilled with Aidan’s performance. He was incredible!
The remainder of the solid can be amazing…
Yes, we had this incredible Northern Irish solid come on board. Jessica Reynolds, who just got here off the back of Kneecap, and Michael Smiley. I just stood there pondering: “How did this work out like this??” It was a unprecedented experience, truly, truthfully. It was really thrilling.
I’m curious: Do you propose to do more work in fiction and drama or are you going to return to docs? What are you working on next?
I’m just ending a brand new feature documentary on the minute, which can hopefully be out in early 2026.
Are you able to share any details or do you’ve NDAs to stick with?
I can’t say much. Nevertheless it’s a really natural step on from Nothing Compares.
Any fiction plans?
Yes, I’m starting to jot down a script, beginning to get a treatment done, principally, for a drama feature that I’ll eventually wish to attempt to get off the bottom. Yeah, just the experience I had on this short was so potent, and I actually, truly find it thrilling and exciting. It’s definitely whetted my appetite to do loads more.
For more LFF 2025 shorts coverage, take a look at:
Sheep and Mob Mentality: ‘Flock’ Author-Director Mac Nixon Desires to Reframe Welsh Identity on Screen
and
‘Magid / Zafar’ Author-Director Luís Hindman Sets the Beat to Explore South Asian Masculinity