Former ACC student's film is Ireland's entry for Oscars

By Rebekah O'Reilly

A film directed by Ballinasloe native and former Athlone Community College student Gearóid (Gar) O'Rourke has been chosen as Ireland's entry for the Oscars.

The Irish Film & Television Academy selected Gar's film 'Sanatorium' as Ireland's entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the 2026 Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars.

The Oscar International Feature Film category is a specific category for films produced in a language other than English. Each country can enter just one film into this category to represent their country. A shortlist of five films is set to be announced ahead of the awards ceremony.

"Sanatorium is an unusual choice, because it's a film directed by an Irish director, which features mostly Ukrainian and Russian language," Gar said. "Generally, the IFTAs would send an Irish language film in this category."

The film director, who attended Athlone Community College, said his love of filmmaking was first spotted there.

“Teachers were always telling me I’d be a great filmmaker, but I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do at that time!” Gar said.

“It’s nice to connect back to that part of my life. The school are very proud to hear the news of a past student going to the Oscars.”

Gar revealed that a Ukrainian student, who is currently studying in Athlone Community College, contacted him to share her pride in his achievement.

"She reached out to me to say she hopes to become an actress in the future, and she really loved the fact that someone from her school was making films like this," Gar said.

"I just hope the film can be an example to people that, no matter where you're from, you can get something done if you put your mind to it!"

Sanatorium made its world premiere at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen in its main international competition, DOX:AWARD in late March, with release in Irish cinemas on Friday, September 5.

The film was acquired by BBC Storyville for its Oscar-winning features strand, and was produced by Sundance and BAFTA winning Venom Films, MET Films and BBC Storyville.

The film has subsequently gone on to compete in Visions Du Reel in Switzerland in early April 2025, and has been further selected to compete in a variety of international film festivals in 2025.

"The idea for this film originated in 2021," Gar said. "We filmed it in a relatively short amount of time, and for it to be getting its cinema release just four years later, and to be getting such positive feedback has been incredible."

He noted that his directorial debut offered a 'very unique' filming experience.

"My whole team was Ukrainian, and I had fantastic producers in Ireland from Venom Film, Ken Wardrop and Andrew Friedman, and Samantha Corr.

"As an Irish person making a film in Ukraine, you hope that you've approached it in a way that feels authentic, and that has been the response. Ukrainians are surprised to find an Irish person has directed the project."

Speaking about being put forward as Ireland's official entry for the Oscars, Gearóid said it is an 'enormous honour'.

"It means an enormous amount for Sanatorium to be chosen as Ireland's official entry to the Oscars for 2026. This is a privilege, and I'm honoured to be representing Ireland on the highest level for world cinema.

"I want to say a huge thank you on behalf of myself and our incredible Ukrainian crew, our amazing producers in Dublin, and our fantastic partners in Ukraine, our co-producers 23/32 Films. I'm hugely grateful to IFTA for choosing our film to represent Ireland for the Best International Feature Film category."

'Sanatorium' is a quietly observational film that captures the heart and soul of a remarkable holiday and health resort, revealing a different perspective of life in Ukraine during the war.

"It is a relatively simple story of people taking a holiday in a war zone. It's about Ukrainians looking for peace and refuge in extraordinary times, and it's a film that has humour, heart, love.

"It's a film that focuses on healing, community, and above all, I believe it is a film that can show the power, strength, and resilience of the Ukrainian people during these times."

Gar added he hoped to evoke a sense of understanding with the film.

"I think we're hoping to engage with a large audience in Ireland, and across the world. Let's remember, a lot of our neighbours are now Ukrainians, and I think this film can offer an experience for Irish audiences to understand their new neighbours a little bit better than they do already."

The Ballinasloe native added the film captures something unfamiliar to Irish audiences.

"Sanatoriums are something we don't have in Ireland, and I suppose that will be surprising to Irish audiences," he said. "Usually, we would go on holidays somewhere sunny, and have a few drinks, and probably come back feeling a bit worse than we left.

"The film captures a different kind of holiday, where Ukrainians go to this place to heal and rejuvenate. I have actually experienced most of the treatments myself which are shown in the film.

"It also has a surprising amount of comedy acting, which is not something people will expect coming out of Ukraine at this time. This humour comes directly from the people who feature in the film and their own sense of humour."

Gar's work spans documentaries, branded films, commercials, and art films.

He has directed projects with clients such as Netflix, Canon, BBC Storyville, Paramount+, Visa, Patagonia, Sony, Dyson, CBS, France TV and Irish Museum of Modern Art. His film work has won awards and competed in some of the world's top film festivals, along with being acquired by some of the biggest broadcasters in North America and Europe.

As of spring 2025, Gar is now in pre-production on his second feature documentary, which takes place on the northern Italian Riviera.

The project is a co-production between Venom Films and Switzerland, Ireland, and BBC Storyville, and has been filming across summer continuing into early autumn of this year.

"It's an observational documentary, tragic comedy, based in Cinque Terre in Italy, called The Siege of Paradise," Gar said.

"The film aims to talk about over-tourism, in what is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Europe.

"It's told through a variety of different perspectives, and it'll be hitting the festival circuit in Spring of 2026."