Showtime announced today that its feature documentary Nothing Compares will have an awards-qualifying theatrical run starting Friday, September 23, at Cinema Village in New York and Laemmle Monica Film Center in Los Angeles.
The film will be available to stream for Showtime subscribers on Friday, September 30, ahead of its on-air premiere on Sunday, October 2, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The documentary will be released theatrically in the U.K. and Ireland on Friday, October 7.
Directed by Kathryn Ferguson (Taking the Waters, Space to Be), Nothing Compares charts Sinéad O’Connor‘s phenomenal rise to worldwide fame and examines how she used her voice at the height of her stardom before her iconoclastic personality led to her exile from the pop mainstream.
Focusing on O’Connor’s prophetic words and deeds from 1987 to 1993, the film presents an authoritative, richly cinematic portrait of this fearless trailblazer through a contemporary feminist lens.
The archive-led documentary features era-defining music videos and concert performances alongside previously unseen footage from this period. The film is underpinned by a new interview with O’Connor herself, in which she reflects on events in her own words from a present-day perspective.
Intimate first-hand contributor interviews add to the tapestry with additional insights from contemporary artists, musicians, and social commentators, introducing broader themes of Irish history, politics, and global activism, all the while reflecting on O’Connor’s artistry, impact, and legacy.
Belfast-born Ferguson is an innovative and boundary-pushing director who has focused on short-form work centered on identity, gender politics, and community. Nothing Compares is her documentary feature directorial debut and was an official selection in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
The film has gone on to win various awards at film festivals this year, including Best Irish Documentary at Galway Film Fleadh, the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Aegean Film Festival, and the Audience Award at Docs Ireland.
The film is produced by Eleanor Emptage and Michael Mallie for Tara Films (U.K.) and Ard Mhacha Productions (Ireland), in association with Field of Vision. The executive producers are Charlotte Cook, Lesley McKimm, Lucy Pullin, John Reynolds, and Lisa Marie Russo.
The film was supported by Screen Ireland, the BFI Doc Society Fund, IE:Entertainment, and Northern Ireland Screen.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills to provide the latest news on streaming, movies, and TV shows. He previously created the websites ComingSoon, SuperHeroHype, and ShockTillYouDrop.