Sinéad O’Connor doc Nothing Compares from Kathryn Ferguson heads to Showtime

Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor (photo: Bryan Ledgard via CC)

Showtime in the US has acquired worldwide rights to a forthcoming documentary about Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor directed by Kathryn Ferguson.

Nothing Compares charts O’Connor’s 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 authored, richly cinematic portrait of this fearless trailblazer through a contemporary feminist lens, the producers said.

Vinnie Malhotra

The doc is underpinned by a new interview with O’Connor, in which she reflects on events in her own words and from a present-day perspective.

ViacomCBS-owned Showtime is planning a theatrical release later this year in the US, UK and Ireland ahead of the film’s premiere on Showtime in the US and with its as-yet-unannounced international partner streaming platforms later this year.

It marks Ferguson’s (Taking the Waters, Space to Be) documentary feature directorial debut and is produced by Eleanor Emptage and Michael Mallie for Tara Films in the UK and Ard Mhacha Productions in Ireland and presented by 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. Submarine represented the film for worldwide sales and negotiated the deal with Showtime.

The deal was announced by Vinnie Malhotra, executive VP of non-fiction programming at Showtime Networks.

“When we began making this documentary four years ago, a key objective was that we would one day be able to share the film with audiences around the world, and to celebrate Sinéad’s music and artistry with fans both old and new. We’re delighted to be partnering with Showtime to achieve that,” said Ferguson.