Award-winning football comedy hits Irish shores

Award-winning football comedy hits Irish shores

19 February 2025

A SHORT comedy film shot at Saintfield United’s football ground, which is taking Europe by storm, will be shown in Belfast next week.

The Ballad of Bobby Shine is directed by Gavin Irvine and tells the story of a ghost who is summoned to help his football team win.

Unfortunately when the dyslexic clairvoyant misreads his signs, the team are relegated.

After winning awards at film festivals in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, the film will be screened on Tuesday, February 25, at The Black Box in Belfast as part of The Film Devour Short Film Festival.

It is expected that some Saintfield United players will be in audience.

Gavin has lived in London for the past 15 years, but grew up in Saintfield – just a stone’s throw away from the football ground where the film was shot.

He explained how the film came about.

“I decided I wanted to come home and make a film. At Christmas in 2023 I met with my friend, the Belfast actress Cathy Brennan-Bradley. I thought she would be a fantastic leading lady.

“I told her a half-baked idea I had about a women’s football team battling relegation and she said she would love to be in it.

“I wrote the in January 2024. It was very retro, it harked back to the 80s.”

Cathy also served as the co-producer on the film, helping with casting and sourcing locations, and all of the cast other than the titular Bobby Shine were female. 

So, how did they decide to film in Saintfield?

“We were struggling to find a football pitch that had posts up as the season was over,” Gavin explained.

“I looked online and Saintfield United came up. I contacted a club official, Lindsay Ross, who said their posts were up. I asked him if we could film there and he said yes. The club were very accommodating.

“Having grown up in Saintfield, filming there was a trip down memory lane for me – it was an amazing experience. The people of the village pulled out the stops…they did me proud.”

The film has won four awards to date – Best Super Short at the 2025 Absurd Film Festival in Milan, Best Comedy at the 2025 New Cinema Film Festival in Amsterdam, Best Comedy at the 2024 Paradise Film Festival in Cologne and Best Short at the 2024 Italy International Film Festival in Naples.

“The Italians were very warm. They loved the film – they gave it two rounds of applause,” Gavin said.

“It’s incredibly difficult to get into film festivals – some get around 4,000 entries. But we worked really hard, and you reap what you sow. Fingers crossed we’ll win a few more awards.”

Gavin thanked the cast and crew who helped to make the film such a success.

“I couldn’t have done the film without Cathy’s input. The team went above and beyond and everybody chipped in. 

“It was one of the most harmonious and fun sets I’ve worked on. Thanks to everyone who was involved.”