Trailer for A Shine of Rainbows, which screened at the 2009 Vancouver International Film Festival.
Young Tomas (John Bell) has a gentle and unassuming personality that makes his life as an orphan unlivable. His helpful nature is interpreted as weakness, and the other boys at the orphanage bully him. Then, one day, a colourful and kind woman named Maire O'Donnell (Connie Nielsen) sweeps in and infuses his once-cheerless existence with love, laughter and the belief in magic. After being whisked back to enchanted Corrie Island off the West Coast, Tomas grows and comes into his own under Maire's care and understanding--but her reserved husband (Aidan Quinn) can't hide his lack of interest in the child.
Just when Tomas begins to come out of his shell and see the goodness in the world and the people around him, Maire's delicate health takes a turn for the worse. Will her husband, who has not been able to accept Tomas as his son, be able to step up to the responsibility of loving and nurturing Tomas as Maire does?