Dare Films Ireland

Murder at the Cottage

The Search for Justice for Sophie (2021)

This 5-part documentary miniseries, directed by 6 time Academy Award-nominee Jim Sheridan, takes a unique and poetic approach to investigating the notorious unsolved 1996 murder of French film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier in the countryside of Ireland.

The series was purchased by Sky and quickly garnered critical acclaim, earning five stars in the New Statesman and rave reviews elsewhere. It remains Sky’s highest rating original documentary, and is available to watch on both NOW TV and Sky.

'An extraordinary piece of true crime … If Jim Sheridan’s series gives us both mystery and tragedy, this is also televisual psycho-geography'

New Statesman

A Very British Gangster

(2007)

This documentary introduces one of Britain's most dangerous crime families and its magnetic, larger-than-life leader, Dominic Noonan (aka Lattlay Fottfoy). Investigative journalist and director, Donal MacIntyre presents hardened criminals embroiled in kidnapping, torture, narcotics, and murder. They reveal a brutal world where a disenfranchised community are forced to rely on gangsters for justice, rather than the police.

A Very British Gangster opened in Sundance, where it won the festival’s coveted Cognac Grand Prix award, along with widespread critical acclaim. It is now available to watch on Amazon Prime.

'With a fascinating character as its subject, A Very British Gangster makes for entertaining, frightening, and informative viewing...'

Rotten Tomatoes

Noah: Belfast Boy

For six days during the summer of 2020, the city of Belfast held its breath and prayed that missing 14-year-old, Noah Donohoe, would be found alive. It was a story that united a divided community who poured out of their homes in extraordinary numbers, regardless of religious or political beliefs, to support the search for the missing schoolboy.



Despite their best efforts, with every passing day, hope ebbed. Six days after his disappearance, Noah’s body was found naked, 950 metres down in a storm drain.

This documentary sheds extraordinary new light on Noah’s death and the subsequent investigation. Filming on Noah: Belfast Boy commenced in August 2020. This documentary, a co-production with Belfast based film company Relapse Pictures, is due for release in 2024. 

Dusty

Currently in development, this Dusty Springfield biopic is the first to tell the remarkable story of the soul singer behind hits such as ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ and ‘I Only Wanna Be With You’. Under the direction of six-time Academy Award nominated Jim Sheridan, the movie will track the highlights and low ebbs of her life, interweaving her public fights for sexual equality and social justice with her personal loves and inner struggles - from her love affair with Motown music to her controversial electroshock therapy, and later her first meaningful relationship with a black female backing singer in New York.

Jim Sheridan and Sameera Steward have co-written the script, based on Karen Bartlett's book, Dusty: An Intimate Portrait of a Musical Legend, for which Dare Films and our co-producers, Little by Little Productions, have secured and bought the rights. Clearance has been obtained for all of the music required. We are currently working with casting agents in preparation for moving the project into the production phase.

The Devil's Advocate

This documentary tells the story of Giovanni di Stefano who made a fortune defending tyrants, despots, and some of the world’s most dangerous men, including Saddam Hussein, Harold Shipman, and Slobodan Milošević – despite having no legal credentials whatsoever. Described by the judge who sentenced him as ‘one of nature's fraudsters... a swindler without scruple or conscience’, di Stefano’s adventures led him not just to the top of the legal profession, but to becoming a general in the Serbian army, director of Dundee FC, and nearly owner of MGM Studios.

Dare Films has secured exclusive access to Giovanni di Stefano and his family, lawyers, and assistants. This is an utterly compelling true crime documentary that encapsulates a zeitgeist surrounding con artists, charlatans, and mavericks. Like Tiger King, Fire Island, and Inventing Anna before it, it promises international relevance and mainstream success. Filming has already commenced.