NO TIME WASTERS Selected for DIFF 2025
Screening Times: No Time Wasters // Light House Cinema // 21/02/2025 // 5:15 PM
Film production company Motherland have announced that Tara O’Callaghan’s No Time Wasters, created as part of the Virgin Media Discovers programme, has been officially selected for the Dublin International Film Festival. The film will have its premiere on February 21, 2025, at 5:15 PM as part of the Virgin Media Discovers lineup. The film is produced by WFT member Louise Byrne and it showcases incredible performances from rising talent Ellie Mejia, and some of Ireland’s finest with IFTA nominated Peter Coonan (King Frankie, Love/Hate, Hidden Assets) and Grainne Keenan (The Foreigner, Black Mirror, The Night Caller)
Tara O’Callaghan, a filmmaker with a background in documentary storytelling, is known for her unflinching approach to tackling challenging and often taboo subjects. Her work amplifies underrepresented voices and dives deep into issues often left in the shadows. With No Time Wasters, O’Callaghan brings her raw, compassionate style to narrative filmmaking, exploring the harsh realities of sex-for-rent exploitation – a widespread and deeply troubling issue in Ireland that continues to be overlooked and unaddressed.
This marks Tara’s narrative debut, following the success of her internationally acclaimed short documentary, Call Me Mommy. Call Me Mommy won Best Short Documentary at the Galway Film Fleadh 2022, the Audience Choice Award at the IFI Film Festival 2022, received an IFTA nomination, and was nominated for best documentary short at Sundance 2023.
LOGLINE
The loss of a home, the quiet manipulations and the weight of survival – Marianne is pulled into a world where the lines between kindness and exploitation dangerously blur, forcing her to confront what she’ll sacrifice to survive.
SYNOPSIS
Marianne, a young woman on the verge of homelessness, moves through a single, unrelenting day in a city that feels like it’s closing in around her. When Paul invites her to a house viewing, it feels like a fleeting glimmer of hope. Finding solace in the warmth of Paul’s wife Shelly, Marianne allows herself to believe she might have found a way out. But as the day unfolds, their generosity takes a darker turn and she finds herself caught in a space where the lines between help and exploitation are dangerously blurred.
Forced to confront the quiet manipulations of sex-for-rent exploitation, Marianne navigates a world that preys on vulnerability. No Time Wasters is a raw and unflinching portrait of survival, capturing the fragile moments where resilience is pushed to its limits.
WHY NOW?
Sex-for-rent exploitation has become a deeply troubling issue both in Ireland and abroad, while other countries have introduced legislation to address it, Ireland still lacks any protections for the most vulnerable in our society. As one of the harshest consequences of our housing crisis, it preys on those already struggling, forcing individuals – particularly women – into impossible choices between survival and exploitation. No Time Wasters sheds light on this stark reality, calling for immediate action to protect those at risk and hold perpetrators accountable.
No Time Wasters is a Motherland Production. It was Written and Directed by Tara O’Callaghan, Produced by WFT member Louise Byrne and with Ross Killeen as Executive Producer. Edited by Vincent McEntee. Cinematography by Albert Hooi, Production Design by Lauren Kelly and Sound Design and Original Music by James Latimer.
For Further Information please email louise@motherland.ie
Instagram handles : @notimewastersfilm @Motherland_ie & Tara O’Callaghan: @toctaz
Poster Credit : Alan McCarthy
