Jamie Dornan has surprised fans yet again—this time by stepping behind the camera for his directorial debut, a quiet, emotional drama set at sea. The film, titled Between Shores, is an intimate story about a father and son trying to reconnect during a sailing trip along the Irish coastline.
No guns, no scandals, no billionaire suits. Just two men, the open sea, and years of unresolved silence between them.
“I wanted to tell a story about real healing,” Dornan said. “Not dramatic Hollywood redemption—just a father trying to be less of a stranger to his own child.”
Dornan plays the father himself, but the film is not autobiographical. Still, the themes of masculinity, grief, and generational gaps hit close to home. He spent over a year crafting the script and even took sailing lessons to make every frame feel authentic.
Cinematography is sparse, raw, and wind-blown. Long takes dominate. There’s little dialogue—just silence, glances, and the rhythmic creak of an old boat.
Critics at a private screening in Dublin praised the film as “quietly devastating.” For Dornan, it marks a turning point. No longer just the face of a franchise—he’s now shaping stories from scratch.
