Reefer and the Model

Ireland, 1988

Reefer (Ian McElhinney), a cynical ex-IRA man keen to escape a dark past, picks up hitch-hiker Teresa (Carol Scanlan), a pregnant woman struggling to overcome her drug addiction. He offers her refuge on the trawler where he lives with friends Spider (Sean Lawlor) and Badger (Ray McBride). The foursome embarks on nefarious adventures throughout Galway. The first feature to be restored through the Irish Film Institute and Screen Ireland Digitisation Project, Reefer and the Model is a provocative, picaresque wonder, presenting Ireland at a crossroads, a country questioning whether it can reject the violence of its past and be reborn. This 2023 Directors Cut is presented to celebrate and acknowledge the contribution of Joe Comerford has made to Irish Cinema. His fierce, independent voice resonates urgently now, as much as it did when his films were made.