Sinéad O'Connor documentary director: 'She was dismissed and reduced'

It had a brief cinematic release in 2022 and is arriving on Sky Documentaries and Now this weekend. Sadly, it comes just days after the iconic singer died aged 56 at her home in London.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com prior to O'Connor's death, Ferguson described the indelible influence the singer had on her life as a young woman growing up in Belfast, and the "emotional dent" that was left when O'Connor was "demoralised" following a backlash from the media.

The backlash came in response to her infamous 1992 performance on Saturday Night Live, a focal point of the documentary which recalls the moment the singer tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II on the US TV sketch show.

"I grew up in Belfast during the '80s and '90s," the director told RadioTimes.com. "In 1992 when the backlash against Sinéad began I was a pre-teen schoolgirl and passionate fan. Sinéad had been playing on MTV constantly, then she just kind of vanished.

"It showed me: here's somebody that's amazing and incredible, and she's been dismissed and reduced to the point where I can't see her any more. What does that say to a young woman? For me, as a young Belfast girl, it was just demoralising. And it left an emotional dent on me."

Ferguson continued: "In that moment the seeds were sown for Nothing Compares. I finally met her in 2012 when as a young director I was asked to direct a music video for Sinéad's track 4th and Vine. Meeting her reminded me of all the feelings I'd felt as a teenager and that's where it all started."

The documentary film has already enjoyed success in the US, with the poster featuring on a giant billboard in the middle of Times Square, which Ferguson described as "the most satisfying moment for me".

"It dawned on me that surely one of the last times her image would have been shown in Times Square was in October 1992, when crowds were steamrolling over her records after the SNL incident. It felt quite profound to see this giant picture of her face, back where she belongs after 30 years."

O'Connor had become enraged by abuse scandals in the Catholic Church in Ireland at the time.

She spoke later in life about her own history of sexual, emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her mother, and revealed that she had taken the photo of Pope John Paul II from her mother's bedroom wall shortly after her death.

Reflecting on the moment in her 2021 memoir Rememberings, the singer wrote. "My intention had always been to destroy my mother's photo of the pope.

"I carefully brought it everywhere I lived from that day forward, because nobody ever gave a s**t about the children of Ireland."

Ferguson expressed her devastation over the death of O'Connor while speaking on today's (27th July) BBC Radio 4's Front Row.

"I just found out an hour ago. I'm devastated to hear the desperate news about Sinéad," she commented.

"Our film, really for me, it was a love letter to Sinéad. It was made over many, many years. And made because of the impact she had made on me as a young girl growing up in Ireland."

The filmmaker also shared an image of her with O'Connor on social media, writing: "Devastated. We were so lucky to have her."

Nothing Compares will be released on Sky Documentaries and Now on Saturday 29th July – you can sign up for Sky TV here.

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