On May 30th, the Indie X Festival in downtown Los Angeles will host a screening of Bridget, a short film about some tragically infamous events in Ireland in 1895.
The 35-minute drama, directed and co-written by Anne Williamson and brought to life by members of repertory company the Fionn MacCumhaill Players, of which she is a founding member, depicts the final days of 26-year-old seamstress Bridget Cleary. Her husband Michael became convinced that she was a witch and wound up burning her to death with the help of family members. (She may have been immolated first and set on fire after dying.)
Bridget liked to take walks in and around a fort near her home in Ballyvadlea in Tipperary county. When she became sick after doing so one day in the rain, her deluded husband described her as "being away with the fairies."
The murder trial held in April 1895 was an international media sensation and involved a gaggle of defendants. Michael Cleary was ultimately convicted of manslaughter and served 15 years in jail before immigrating to Montreal, Canada.
The short film premiered in Ireland in the fall of 2024 and has had a nice run of local screenings. It made its U.S. debut in March 2026 at the 3rd Annual Westerly Irish Film Fest in Westerly, Rhode Island and has been tapped at the upcoming Indie X Festival in three awards categories: Best Ensemble Cast, Best New Director and Best Young Actor.
Bridget is also scheduled for another and perhaps final Ireland screening May 16th at the historic Abymill Theatre Fethard.
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