Documentaries, dramas, and football tonight...
Beo Faoin BhFód
9:30pm, TG4
Once again, TG4 showcases its quirky magic with this acclaimed documentary. It's the story of Ballyporeen man Mick Meaney, who went six feet under the London soil in a bid to break the world record for the longest time spent buried alive - thinking inside the box, if you will. TG4 promises that Beo Faoin bhFód is "a fun and unique look at a bizarre event, largely forgotten from the history books" but says it will also tug at the heartstrings when viewers hear from Mick's daughter Mary, pictured above.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Netflix
Ah, yes - a sad, funny, and beautiful evocation of a certain age that fits just right. Logan Lerman is the shy freshman who arrives in high school with the mantra that he only has 1,385 days to go. Help isn't far away, though. Adapted by director Stephen Chbosky from his own best-selling book, this pre-internet world of mixtapes, listening to The Smiths in the small hours, ignorance, bliss, blown-out-of-all-proportion dramas, and genuine crises pulses with authenticity and deserves to become a hand-me-down like the most celebrated films of the genre. Guaranteed to make you feel both old and young again.
Champions League Live
7:30pm, RTÉ2
With doom clouds over Anfield, Liverpool play host to PSV Eindhoven as the 'League Phase' of the Champions League continues. Liverpool head coach Arne Slot (above) says the number of goals his side have conceded is "ridiculous", but he stresses that his players have not lost the appetite for a fight. We'll see...
Bobi Wine: The People's President
Disney+
This Oscar-nominated documentary follows Ugandan pop star turned politician Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu - aka Bobi Wine - and his National Unity Platform as they try to end the decades-long rule of the autocrat Yoweri Museveni in the January 2021 general election. Bobi Wine: The People's President is, simultaneously, an inspiring and harrowing watch. It also brings to mind the quote of the Dublin singer and song collector Frank Harte: "If you want to know the facts, consult the history books. If you want to know what it felt like, ask a singer." Filled with the tension of a conspiracy thriller, but with the gravest of real-life implications, the film marks out Ugandan-born rookie directors Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp as a brilliant team. Their courage and commitment to tell this story hooks you from the off. It's also a timely watch, as the next election in Uganda is scheduled for 15 January, 2026.
Maria Full of Grace
Sky Cinema
The Affair star Catalina Sandino Moreno was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as a 17-year-old drug mule in writer-director Joshua Marston's (Tulsa King, Ray Donovan) 2004 feature debut. Playing like a lower-key companion piece to Steven Soderbergh's Oscar-winning Traffic, Maria Full of Grace looks at how the poor decide on the most dangerous option to escape their drudgery and desperation - and what happens once they've made that decision. It would be a rather short and pointless film if we weren't sympathetic to Maria from the outset, but Marston plays on your conflicting feelings of wanting to see her make it through customs and get her money while simultaneously cursing her for being so stupid in the first place. Sandino Moreno is remarkably natural and suitably understated in a film that works as social commentary, compelling drama, and, in one particular section, better than most thrillers.
