Rúbaí

‘God is everywhere, Rúbaí. Everyone knows that.’ – Despite her teacher’s declaration, eight-year-old Rúbaí challenges the existence of God in the days before her Holy Communion.  

When Rúbaí continues to challenge her teacher and announces to the visiting priest  that she is an atheist, she provokes their frustration and leaves them speechless when she cites Charles Darwin as ‘a fella who makes sense’.  Enigmatic scenes of this solitary child purposefully digging in the garden are intercut with scenes of her reluctant preparations with her mother for the Communion Day. Her mother is impatient with her classroom defiance and  her preoccupation with evolution but ultimately understands what is driving her to behave this way.   

This film won many awards including Best Short at the Babel Film Festival in Sardinia.

This film is part of F-Rated: Short Films by Irish Women. To view more from the collection click here. It is also part of Children on Film. To see more from the collection, click here.

IFI recommendation: 8+