TUMBLING TOWARDS HOME
2020
Tumbling Towards Home is a coming of age story about Malcolm Adams, an Irish immigrant who moves to New York in 1989 to study acting under Alan Langdon. He works through the grief from the loss of his mother and his friend Philip Seymour Hoffman. This leads to his decision of where to place his hat down and call it home.
PRESS
Tumbling Towards Home: Tale of the Child’s Homecoming
An Actor’s Immigrant tale.
Tumbling Towards Home: Imelda O’Reilly’s audacious short film.
Johnny Cash gave her a daisy and the rest was history
The Irish Times
Interview with Filmmaker Imelda O’Reilly
Columbia Alumn Wins Big at Worldfest-Houston
Professor O’Reilly Won Award at the Worldfest- Houston Film Festival
Tumbling Towards Home, dir. by Imelda O'Reilly
AWARDS TO DATE
Inwood Film Festival, 2022
Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking
Antwerp 2021 International Film Festival, 2021
Best Animation or Animated Sequence
10th Kolkata Shorts International Film Festival, 2021
Certificate of Excellence
Best Documentary Awards, 2021
Finalist
Europa Film Festival, 2021
Finalist - Best Animation
Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival, 2021
Director’s Choice Award
L'Age d'or International Arthouse Film Festival, 2020
Certificate of Achievement
Luis Buñuel Memorial Awards, 2020
Outstanding Achievement Award
WILDsound Documentary Short Film Festival, 2020
Best Characters
WorldFest Houston
Bronze Remi Award
Independent Short Awards
Bronze Award for Best Female Director
Accolade Competition
Award of Recognition / Best Documentary Short
Mindfield Film Festival Albuquerque
Diamond Award, Best Documentary Short
Indie Short Fest
Certificate of Achievement Best Web Series/TV Pilot
Changing Face Film Festival, 2020
Semi-Finalist
Dumbo Film Festival, 2020
Semi-Finalist
Alternative Film Festival, 2020
Semi-Finalist - Nominee, Best Documentary
London X4
Honorable Mention, Seasonal Short Film Festival
The Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards
Nominee, Best Short documentary film
Indie Short Fest
Nominee, Best Web Series
Long Island International Film Expo
Nominee, Best Animation
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS TO DATE
Cinequest Film and VR Creativity Festival, 2020
World Premier (Oscar Qualifying)
Rhode Island International Film Festival, 2020
New England Premier (Oscar Qualifying)
DOC NYC, 2020
New York Premier (Oscar Qualifying)
Katra Film Series, 2021
Antwerp 2021 International Film Festival, 2021
Nominee: Best Director Or Short Documentary
Nominee: Best Short Documentary
Nominee: Best sound design
Nominee: Best cinematography
The Waterford Film Festival, 2021
1st Honorable Mention
The Video Art & Experimental Film Festival, 2021
Hoboken Historical Museum
Official Virtual Screening
10th Kolkata Shorts International Film Festival, 2021
Focus International Film Festival, 2021
Astoria Film Festival, 2021
University Film and Video Association
Official Screening
Imagine This Women's Film Festival, 2021
World Cinema Antwerp, Belgium, 2021
New Renaissance Film Festival, London, 2021
Prague Monthly Film Festival, 2021
The Flickers Film Feis - RIIFF, 2021
Irish Films From Home, 2021
Europa Film Festival, 2021
FlickFair Film Festival, 2021
Jelly Fest Film Festival, 2021
Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival, 2021
Inwood Film Festival, 2021
Vero Beach Museum of Art, 2021
Asbury Shorts USA, 2021
L’Age d’Or International Arthouse Film Festival (LIAFF), 2020
Certificate of Achievement
Big Syn International Film Festival, London, 2020
Official Selection
SouthSide Film Festival, 2020
Exploding Cinema, 2020
Richard Harris International Film Festival, 2020
The Long Island International Film Expo, 2020
Angaelica Film Festival, 2020
Official Selection
Fordham University Irish Women Writers Symposium, 2020
Irish Women and Film
11th Underground Cinema Film Festival, 2020
Cascadia International Women’s Film Festival, 2020
WILDsound FEEDBACK Film Festival, 2020 (Toronto & Los Angeles)
Dumbo Film Festival, 2020
Changing Face Film Festival, 2020
Mindfield Film Festival Albuquerque, 2020
London X4
WorldFest Houston
Accolade Global Film Competition
The Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards
BLOW-UP International Arthouse Film Festival
Semi-Finalist
Indie Cork International Film Festival, 2020
Joe Foley on location in Ireland filming Malcolm Adams in Tumbling Towards Home.
“…explores the subject…with whimsy and intimacy.”
“There is an abundance of treacly quotes that recite the tired notion that home isn’t a place, but the loved ones around us who provide a sturdy familial structure. While thematically and emotionally agreeable, we all come from somewhere. Imelda O’Reilly’s latest documentary, Tumbling Towards Home, focuses on Malcolm Adams, an Irish immigrant who moved to New York in 1989 to chase his dream of becoming an actor. Over the course of Imelda O’Reilly’s audacious short film, she interweaves home video, jaunty cartoon animation, and real-life footage of Ireland and New York, to drive the narrative. The fashion in which O’Reilly tells Adams’ story is surprisingly exuberant and varied.””
“Tumbling Towards Home uses an eclectic combination of light and heavy as a charming and surprisingly deep story unfolds. The snowball fight scene with Philip Seymour Hoffman was both moving and entertaining. The film deftly explores different cultures and psychological issues with a great variety of visual styles. ”
“Grief is a constant part in the experience of an immigrant, you leave the people you love, or the people who are close to you. As artists we find our own way through grief… Also it is interesting the story of how our life path crosses the one of others… chance or fate? Life choices... wow! ”
“Thank you for a stunning film and frankly a tone poem that reached me very, very deeply!”
“Tumbling Towards Home is a quiet look at grief and how it can affect us all when we least expect it. And, of course, how our homeland—even when distanced from it—always provides a sort of lulling call to come back. Moreover, it’s just fun to hear stories about Philip Seymour Hoffman before he was the famous star he would become.”
“The playful animation injects the documentary with more vim, at one point depicting a Travis Bickle lookalike in reference to the ubiquitous crime in New York.”
