In Orbit
There was once an invisible optician, living in a strange and lonely world. Her story starts with a broken lens and the woman who taught her to see things differently.
Maura recounts her life story in an interview with the Head Archivist of the Human Experience Records. Hers is the greatest mission of all time, you see, because what bigger challenge can there be, than learning to love?
She begins on the day she meets Amy, a bright academic with broken glasses. For the first time in forty years, Maura wants to share her life. The only catch is leaving behind the world as she knows it.
Press
“A bold sci-fi vision from debut director Katie McNeice, whose capable queering of genre with a flashback lesbian love story stands out as one of the most admirably ambitious efforts of the slate…shaking off the lingering strictures of a country too long consumed in conservatism and coming to terms with the repressive scars left in its wake.”
– Fleadh Reflections – The Irish Short Film Programme | Gearr Scannain
“A work of unique intent in its striking sci-fi high-concept…Where many queer films have looked to the past’s untold stories and the lingering shadows it casts, In Orbit offers a rare advance unpacking of the movement’s future: the emotional impacts yet to be felt and the likely lasting legacies of present struggles.”
– Irish Shorts at the 27th GAZE International LGBT Film Festival | Gearr Scannain
“I was playing a long-haul game of trying and testing the story on the festival circuit, picking up feedback wherever I could, and gathering praise whenever it cropped up. Twelve months and five awards later, I had enough to attract the actors and crew I wanted to make my first film.”
– Writer’s Pitch Winner ‘In Orbit’ Travelling the Festival Circuit | London Short Series
“I knew from the get-go [music] would be crucial to pulling off the emotional punches in the film because of how it’s structured. The poetic language in it really needed an extra meter so the words didn’t land alone; they needed to fall with all the feeling of musical notes.”
” I’ve noticed that the stronger the director-composer relationship and understanding is, the better the scores are that I write. I think we really connected on topics of internalised emotions, aspects that I love to explore through music, such as the quest to belong but also the struggle to emerge transformed and more connected to others.”
– Scannáin talks In Orbit and composing with Emer Kinsella | Scannáin
“Galway Film Fleadh described ‘In Orbit’ as, ‘a bold sci-fi vision from debut director Katie McNeice, whose capable queering of genre with a flashback lesbian love story stands out’. This perfectly captures the amazing work of Katie McNeice. Her short film brought a bold splash of colour to the screen.”
– GAZE Film Festival awards ceremony closes a phenomenal five days of queer cinema | GCN
“In Orbit just screened at the Galway Film Fleadh and there was a lot of buzz around it.”
“I saw it! It’s amazing, the ambition there. It’s a beautifully contained sci-fi short. Obviously first films are capable of this sort of thing, but it surprised me a lot.”
“For her debut there’s such vision there and she’s actually a former volunteer of the festival. It’s just so amazing to see her come back with her short film to GAZE. It really means a lot to us.”
– Scannáin Podcast #27 with Darren Mooney, Ronan Doyle & Roisín Geraghty
Screenplay Reviews
“Interesting, topical and emotionally rich…it’s the kind of mature and intelligent project Ireland should be producing right now.”
“It is imperative that we increase positive visibility of older LGBT+ people in a way that portrays their experiences, their resilience and that celebrates their lives. For this reason we are supporting this short film In Orbit. And we will be supporting this initiative as much as we can.”
Cast
Áine Ní Mhuirí | Elderly Maura
End of sentence, Brooklyn, Broken
Claire J. Loy | Maura
Casualty, The Outpost, Beyond the Woods
Sarah J. Kinlen | Amy
The Cured, Writing Home, Cat Calls
Olwen Fouéré | ELDERLY AMY
Nightflyers, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindewald
Michael-David McKernan | THE INTERVIEWER
Quantico, Red Rock, 3 Friends
Joe McNeice | Toddler Maura
Well done on your first film, bud
Crew
Katie McNeice | Writer & director
Lily (Feature Film, Co-Writer), Flaneur
Jaro Waldeck | Cinematographer
QED, The Refuge, The Donor
Emer Kinsella | Composer
In Full Bloom, Jungle, Sense8
Ivo Andrade | VFX Supervisor
Leandro Arouca | COLOUR GRADING
Element Post
Caimin Agnew | Sound Recordist
Detainment, Lily, The New Music
