Time is something we are all after… but we also love to postpone things for that elusive moment when “we’ll have time”. In director John Kelly’s (Fern) Retirement Plan, protagonist Ray dreams of everything he’ll be able to do once he retires. The growing list of tasks and goals he is setting for himself gradually revealing a much deeper portrait of the person he currently is. With a humorous approach, Kelly cleverly paints a portrait of one man’s dreams, while also creating a film that is surprisingly poignant and prompts self reflection.
When I grow up, when I get time off, when I’ll retire… I’ll do x, y, z. Isn’t that something we all do? Procrastination is something that is so typical of human beings – although, in Ray’s case I would say there’s a mixture of putting things offs, while also planning for the future. After all, what other species has bucket lists or creates deadlines to start new resolutions? This is what makes Retirement Plan such a quintessentially human story, one that every single person can relate to. From performing those fastidious but mundane tasks or attempting to become a “better” person, Ray’s plans for when he’ll retire feel incredibly universal.
“I was struck by the overwhelming number of things I wanted to do and a simultaneous awareness of how little time I had to do them” – Kelly on the motivation behind his film.
“I was struck by the overwhelming number of things I wanted to do and a simultaneous awareness of how little time I had to do them”, Kelly shared when explaining what first ignited his desire to make Retirement Plan. Adding that this feeling of being overloaded with goals happened on both a “a day-to-day” and “in a broader sense, e.g. would I die before clearing my internet reading list?”. He also noted that “in fiction and memoir we are more used to people looking backwards on their life”, making him interested in reversing that perspective and crafting a narrative where a character looks at what he will do in the future instead.
The film was built around a “list structure”, which Kelly and co-writer Tara Lawall then turned into a screenplay, weaving a narrative through all the ideas. The genius of the writing lies in how it strikes the perfect balance between humour and emotional depth. At its core, the film is a reflection on life and the awareness that it inevitably ends, which inherently creates stakes – like a ticking clock. Yet, the script’s sharp, witty tone grants the protagonist a self-deprecating charm that not only lightens the mood but also makes the film more enjoyable and fun to watch.
“I was keen to avoid any unnecessary flourish here”
The animation style for Retirement Plan is intentionally minimalist. Kelly citing the “stillness of work by filmmakers like Roy Andersson, Wim Wenders and Jean-Pierre Melville” as inspirations, noting that he “was keen to avoid any unnecessary flourish here”. Despite a stripped down approach which allows the audience to process the narrative without being distracted, the film still required over 100 individual shots. Working with animators Marah Curran and Eamonn O’Neill (I’m Fine Thanks, Left), they also created a color palette that subtly enhances the emotional depth of the story.
While already familiar with the work of Domhnall Gleeson, his voice acting in the film still surprised me. Grounded and nuanced, he conveys the emotional layers of his character with remarkable precision. We sense how he feels in the present, how planning for the future gives him hope, but also how it triggers a spiral of anxiety – interrupting him from his imaginary future and ultimately bringing him back to the present.
“I also acted out an entire video version of the film to see how little character movement we could get away with” – Kelly on his production process
Retirement Plan is shaping up as one of the strongest contenders in the race for the Best Animated Short Film award at the 2026 Oscars.The film premiered in Galway in 2024 before its international premiere at the 2025 edition of SXSW, where it won both the Grand Jury and the Audience awards. It then took the festival circuit by storm with selections at the Palm Springs ShortFest, Seattle, Guadalajara, the Norwegian Short Film Festival and GLAS, to only name a few. The film recently premiered online on the New Yorker’s Screening Room and is of course currently FYC.
Kelly is already working on his next project, Rat Story, which he describes as a “comedy-horror-action-documentary”. Inspired by his own experience of waking up with a rat on his chest, the film will be about “what happens in the 3 hours that followed.” SPOILER ALERT: “There might also be some death”, he teased.
