Feminist doco on pop iconoclast Sinead O’Connor coming soon!
Showtime has announced details of its forthcoming feature documentary Nothing Compares about Irish pop star Sinead O’Connor.
Nothing Compares will have an awards-qualifying run starting Friday, September 23 at Cinema Village in New York and Laemmle Monica Film Center in Los Angeles. The film will be available to stream for Showtime subscribers Friday, September 30 ahead of its on-air premiere Sunday, October 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Directed by Kathryn Ferguson (Taking the Waters, Space to Be), Nothing Compares charts Sinead OʼConnorʼs phenomenal rise to worldwide fame and examines how she used her voice at the height of her stardom, before her iconoclastic personality led to her exile from the pop mainstream. Focusing on O’Connor’s prophetic words and deeds from 1987 to 1993, the film presents an authoritative, richly cinematic portrait of this fearless trailblazer through a contemporary feminist lens.
O’Connor, of course has been a polarizing figure in popular culture and has never strayed too far from the headlines since she came onto the global stage. She outed herself as a lesbian in an interview with Curve magazine in 2000, but later clarified the statement in 2005, to Entertainment Weekly saying “I’m three-quarters heterosexual, a quarter gay. I lean a bit more towards the hairy blokes.” She has admitted to at least three same sex relationships in an interview with Ryan Confidential in 2003, however.
The archive-led documentary features era-defining music videos and concert performances alongside previously unseen footage from this period. The film is underpinned by a new interview with O’Connor herself, in which she reflects on events in her own words from a present-day perspective. Intimate first-hand contributor interviews add to the tapestry with additional insights from contemporary artists, musicians and social commentators introducing broader themes of Irish history, politics and global activism, all the while reflecting on O’Connor’s artistry, impact and legacy.
Belfast-born Ferguson is an innovative and boundary-pushing director who has focused on short-form work centered on identity, gender politics and community. Nothing Compares is her documentary feature directorial debut and was an official selection in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. The film has gone on to win various awards at film festivals this year, including Best Irish Documentary at Galway Film Fleadh, the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Aegean Film Festival, and the Audience Award at Docs Ireland.
The film is produced by Eleanor Emptage and Michael Mallie for Tara Films (U.K.) and Ard Mhacha Productions (Ireland), in association with Field of Vision. Executive producers are Charlotte Cook, Lesley McKimm, Lucy Pullin, John Reynolds and Lisa Marie Russo. The film was supported by Screen Ireland, the BFI Doc Society Fund, IE:Entertainment and Northern Ireland Screen.
The documentary will release theatrically in the U.K. and Ireland on Friday, October 7.
