SAIPAN
Thursday, February 26 • 7:00 PM • T1
The screening will be followed by a special guest Q&A with directors Lisa Barros d’Sa and Glenn Leyburn, moderated by Dr. Darragh Gannon, Assistant Teaching Professor and Associate Director of Global Irish Studies at Georgetown University.
Post-screening reception generously sponsored by the Embassy of Ireland, Washington D.C.
Dramatic Feature | Feature Directorial Debut | Award Winner | East Coast Premiere
Screening generously sponsored by Caddie Tours & Niall Leogue
Opening to critical acclaim at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, this nail-biting, darkly comic drama recounts one of the most fractious falling-outs in the history of sport: the explosive clash between international soccer star Roy Keane (Éanna Hardwicke) and manager Mick McCarthy (Steve Coogan) on the island of Saipan just days before the Irish national football team competed in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Rooted in clashing standards and personalities, their feud transcended the game and gripped the entire nation of Ireland as hopes for glory went into a tailspin that not even the Taoiseach could remedy. Keane’s headline-grabbing eleventh hour departure from Ireland’s squad briefly left a weakened McCarthy to hold together a crumbling situation without his team’s talisman amidst a wealth of negativity from press and fans alike. On the surface it was all about standards, but deep down it was a hugely emotive story of two men whose rivalry and contempt came to surpass the sport they loved. With riveting performances from Coogan and Hardwicke, this gripping true story goes beyond sport to tell a tale of leadership, loyalty and rivalry that captured global attention — and as Ireland are on the cusp of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it is the perfect time to learn about a historic moment for the Boys in Green. (Note adapted from Vertigo Releasing)
DIR Lisa Barros D’sa & Glenn Leyburn; SCR Paul Fraser; PROD Macdara Kelleher, John Keville, Trevor Birney, Olly Butler; CAST Éanna Hardwicke, Steve Coogan, Peter McDonald, Jamie Beamish, Alice Lowe, Aoife Hinds, Oliver Coopersmith, Alex Murphy, Harriet Cains, Jack Hickey; DOP Piers McGrail, ISC; SCORE David Holmes, Brian Irvine. Ireland, 2025, color, 91 min. In English. NOT RATED
“At a game-length 91 minutes, Saipan smartly comes and goes with speed (for all of its anger, it’s also a breezy, funny time) but it’s the rare football movie that’s worth a replay.”
“Hardwicke, an actor unfamiliar to most, is an electric presence, a real star find of the festival. He has the self-possession of someone confident in his ability and moral code and the bristling fury of one who can’t believe that those around him can’t quite live up to it.”
- The Guardian
“The likeability of Éanna Hardwicke’s Roy Keane makes the big meltdown all the more shocking. This is an entertaining ride even for those who don’t know one end of a football from another.” - The Irish Times
“Hardwicke is magnetic as Keane. He nails the combination of ferocious self-belief and simmering frustration that defined the player’s reputation. It’s a performance built on stillness and intensity. He doesn’t need to shout to command a room, but when he finally does, you feel the air crackle.”
“It’s a film that may follow a familiar sports-biopic template, but it does so with intelligence, empathy, and a pair of powerhouse performances at its centre.”
- The Jam Report
“A film that manages to be both riveting and uproariously funny at various points.” - In Review Online
“Saipan zeroes in on the clashing personalities that led to one of Ireland’s biggest modern controversies, resulting in a fascinating document of recent Irish history.” - Collider
Funded by Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland and the UK Global Screen Fund, financed by the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport and administered by the BFI.
🎟 For further information regarding bookings:
Please call 301-495-6720 between M-F, 9 AM - 5:30 PM or email silverinfo@AFI.com
Lisa Barros D’sa & Glenn Leyburn are a Belfast-based directing duo who have just finished their most recent feature film, SAIPAN, which stars Steve Coogan as Mick McCarthy and Éanna Hardwicke as Roy Keane in a retelling of Ireland’s infamous 2002 World Cup campaign. They previously directed limited series OBSESSION for Netflix and three feature films. ORDINARY LOVE, starring Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville,premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2019 to rave reviews, and was acquired for widespread international distribution, including by Focus Features in the UK and Bleecker Street in North America. Prior to this, Glenn and Lisa directed GOOD VIBRATIONS, an uplifting and multi-award-winning comedy-drama based on the true story of Terri Hooley, who ran a record shop and music label on the most-bombed street in Belfast during the Troubles.
Dr. Darragh Gannon serves as Assistant Teaching Professor and Associate Director of Global Irish Studies at Georgetown University. He also served as Fulbright Irish Scholar in the Department of History at Georgetown University beginning in 2022. Dr. Gannon has published widely on the history of the Irish diaspora and the Irish Revolution, including Proclaiming a Republic: Ireland, 1916 and the National Collection (Irish Academic Press, 2016), Ireland 1922: independence, partition, civil war, with Fearghal McGarry (Royal Irish Academy, 2021), and Conflict, Diaspora, and Empire: Irish nationalism in Britain, 1912-1922 (Cambridge University Press, 2023). He is currently completing a fourth book, with Cambridge University Press: Worlds of Revolution: Ireland’s ‘global moment’, 1919-1923.
DINNER AND A MOVIE DEAL
Our festival partner, McGinty's Public House, has generously offered an ongoing discount from February 27 through March 2 for all CIFF ticket holders! When you dine at the restaurant, show your CIFF ticket or pass for a 10% off discount on your bill. Located just around the corner from AFI Silver Theatre, McGinty's (911 Ellsworth Dr, Silver Spring, MD 20910) is the perfect place to grab a bite to eat between screenings.
The Capital Irish Film Festival is supported by the Government of Ireland Emigrant Support Programme, Culture Ireland, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, Embassy of Ireland, Northern Ireland Bureau, Northern Ireland Screen, and the Irish Film Institute’s IFI International Programme supported by Culture Ireland. Solas Nua is supported by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities.
