Look Taoiseach, it’s not all that Rosie...
Charity urges Leo to watch homeless film
A HOMELESS charity has claimed Roddy Doyle’s film Rosie should be prescribed viewing for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and his Government.
The acclaimed movie lays bare the human cost of the housing crisis as a mother struggles to protect her four children after their landlord sells their rented home.
The moving drama starring Sarah Greene and Moe Dunford has already won plaudits both here and abroad – and now activists are urging politicians to watch it.
A spokesperson for Inner City Helping Homeless said: “Last night volunteers from ICHH attended a screening at the Irish Film Institute.
“The film tells the story of a family trapped in homelessness and the daily struggle of phoning hotels to self-accommodate. Our volunteers were moved by the accuracy of the film. “It is a real tear-jerker without a storybook happy ending and this is the reality for so many families across the country today. “One consensus from volunteers was that the film should be compulsory viewing for every member of Government DRAMA Movie Rosie and local councils. They all need to see what life is like for these families, including small children.
“They should be made to watch it – starting with Leo Varadkar and Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy.
“This film is a must-see. The next time you go to the cinema, see it and join us in the fight against homelessness.”
The movie follows Rosie and her partner John Paul (played by Vikings star Moe Dunford) over a 36-hour period as they struggle to secure accommodation. While John Paul is out working Rosie is tasked with ringing around a list of hotels provided by Dublin City Council in a bid to find shelter for her four kids.
According to ICHH it’s a scenario that’s all-too-familiar with a system in crisis and 9,527 people in emergency accommodation in August – 3,693 of them children.
Speaking ahead of its release author Roddie Doyle said he’d prefer not to have had to pen the script adding: “As a citizen I’d much rather the story wasn’t there.
“When I began to write it, if by some miracle the Government and society had decided to intervene and stop this problem, I’d be thinking there’s no story.
“But unfortunately there is and there still will be when the film comes out.” Rosie is now on general release.