A long friendship comes to an abrupt end in Director Martin McDonagh’s comedic-drama, The Banshees of Inisherin.

McDonagh’s film reunites his In Bruges stars, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, as lifelong friends Pádraic and Colm who find themselves at an impasse when Colm unexpectedly puts an end to their relationship, a decision that leads to shocking consequences for the both of them.

On October 23, after the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, McDonagh discussed the making of The Banshees of Inisherin during a Q&A moderated by Director Jeremy Kagan (Shot).

During the conversation, McDonagh spoke about the importance of rehearsing and prepping before shooting. “I always like to use this time to tell everyone why I wrote this thing and why I feel what some scenes are about, to make them think what their characters are and to come to some kind of agreement about all these things. It’s not so much about going through the scenes but about coming to an understanding where we start shooting.”

McDonagh’s other directorial credits include the feature films Seven Psychopaths and In Bruges. His 2018 feature, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri garnered him a DGA Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film and an Academy Award nomination for “Best Motion Picture of the Year.” In 2006, he won the Academy Award for “Best Short Film, Live Action,” for his film Six Shooter.

McDonagh has been a DGA member since 2011.

You can listen to McDonagh's Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find more DGA podcast episodes here.