Director's Works
Room Taken TJ O'Grady-Peyton
TJ O’Grady-Peyton first gained industry recognition at the Young Director Awards at Cannes after completing his MA in Filmmaking at the London Film School. His international commercial work includes collaborations with brands such as Guinness, Under Armour, UEFA, Asics, Gatorade, Peloton, Volkswagen, BMW, the Premier League, and the European Union. His work has been recognized by the Webby Awards, Clio Awards, Germany’s Art Directors Club Award, and AICP. He received the Discovery Award from the Dublin International Film Festival. His short film Wave, in which he also acted, won an Irish Film and Television Award for Best Short and was showcased in The New Yorker and by Disney. After premiering at Tribeca, Wave screened at 75 festivals, including BFI, Melbourne, and Clermont-Ferrand. TJ was invited to participate in a Werner Herzog masterclass in the Amazon, and he was selected for Les Nuits en Or, a prestigious touring showcase of the world’s best short films, hosted by the French Academy of Film. He is also a member of the Directors Guild of America. His short film Silence debuted at Tribeca and earned an Irish Film and Television Award nomination, while he received the Bingham Ray New Talent Award at the Galway Film Fleadh. Most recently, his Screen Ireland-funded short film Room Taken, executive produced by Colin Farrell, won Best Irish Short Film at the Dublin International Film Festival and Best Short Film at the Cleveland International Film Festival, securing its eligibility for Oscar consideration. The film was shortlisted among the final 15 for the Academy Awards 2025, appeared on Variety‘s online For Your Consideration festival The Shortlist, and has won 40 awards to date.
"Room Taken," written by Michael Whelan, captures the intersecting lives of two outsiders: an elderly blind woman mourning the loss of her husband, and a foreign man confronting homelessness in a new land. The film blends humour and suspense with themes of loneliness, resilience, and grief—themes that resonate with my own personal experiences of loss. Our storytelling is enriched by real-life insights, including my volunteer work with the homeless charity 'The Simon Community,' and expert consultations on visual impairment and asylum-seeking, as well as conversations with our writer's blind relative. Featuring Bríd Brennan and Gabriel Adewusi, the film addresses the urgency of global issues like migration, asylum-seeking, and homelessness, reflecting current global crises. Produced in partnership with Colmán Mac Cionnaith at Vico Films and Screen Ireland, "Room Taken" aims to illuminate the often-invisible struggles within our society, sparking discussions through a narrative that's both humorous and poignant.