FEATURE FILM ◆ IRELAND ◆ 2026 ◆ RUNTIME: [79 MINS]
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY CALVIN DOYLE
Logline
When a young woman to a village, her presence unsettles two older men and draws buried memories back to the surface.
Synopsis
Two older men move through their lives shaped by memory and habit, rarely stepping beyond their daily routines. When a young woman appears, the fragile balance of their world is disturbed.
As something long buried rises to the surface, memories return, unsettling what has remained unspoken for years.
Directors Statement
Outer Heavens is a film about love in the presence of grief. From the beginning, I wanted to make something open-ended. Explanation collapses mystery, and mystery is where emotion lives. I’m not interested in telling the audience what to think; I want them to participate and complete the film through their own relationship to it.
As the world of the film took shape, it began to feel untethered from a specific time. The frame reinforces that sense of timelessness and allows the characters to exist within a contained, intimate space.
The masked figures and stranger elements are never treated as irony. Absurdity only works when approached seriously. The film does not signal how the audience should react; it allows the world to exist on its own terms.
The setting is drawn from the landscape I know. I did not attempt to dramatize it beyond recognition. I wanted it to feel lived-in, familiar, and quietly mythic at the same time.
Directors Bio
Calvin Doyle is an Irish writer-director. His work focuses on love and grief, often told through open-ended narratives. His short films screened widely on the Irish festival circuit before he completed his debut feature, Outer Heavens. He is currently developing his second feature.
Production Notes
Outer Heavens was written over the course of a month and shot in three days. The schedule was dictated by budget, but the decision to move quickly shaped the film in lasting ways.
There was no traditional screenplay. The film was built from structured scenes and a clear narrative arc, with fragments of dialogue rather than fixed exchanges. The performances developed in the moment.
Most scenes were captured in one take, occasionally two. This was partly practical, but also deliberate. Past experience showed that energy drops after repeated takes. Preserving that energy became central to the approach.
The production was tightly controlled where it needed to be. A detailed shot list and mapped schedule made the three-day shoot possible. Locations were chosen for proximity, and scenes were structured to be completed efficiently.
Within that structure, performance remained instinctive. Nothing was overworked.
Cast & Crew
Lead cast
Ryan Hoey – Captain Lou
Niamh Ryan – Palms
Calvin Doyle – Pa
Denis Haugh – Fran / The Wizard
Ali Heavey – Maura
Writer & Director – Calvin Doyle
Additional Writing & Dialogue – Ryan Hoey
Director of Photography, Editor & Producer – Conor English
Producers – Calvin Doyle, Ryan Hoey, Conor English & Ali Heavey
Original Score – Brian Murphy
Sound Design – Conor English
Production Design & Set Construction – Gary Doyle & Karen Doyle
Photography – Isaac Burke
Photography Assistant – Maya O’Connor
Assistant to Conor English – Saoirse Ryan
Behind-the-Scenes Filming – Eimear Hannon
Editing Consultant – Ali Heavey
FESTIVAL & PROGRAMMING ENQUIRIES
hello@calvindoyle.com