Irish Film Insitute, IFI
Throughout the month of April, the IFI will celebrate Ireland’s film industry by presenting the first in our new annual event where we shine a spotlight on Irish cinema. This year our inaugural showcase is in partnership with Bord Scannán na hÉireann/Irish Film Board to mark the occasion of their 20th anniversary. The showcase will concentrate on new Irish film with titles running throughout the month and culminating in a series of extra events and screenings over the final weekend (April 26th – 28th).
A host of new Irish titles will be screening at the IFI in April. Good Vibrations, Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn’s cracking new feature about Terri Hooley and Belfast punk, will run until April 18th. Gerard Barrett’s award-winning Pilgrim Hill will open on April 12th with the director participating in a post-screening Q&A on the first night of the release. Mark O’Connor, whose previous feature Between the Canals was a great success at IFI, returns with his new feature, King of the Travellers on April 19th, with a special preview on April 18th to include a post-screening Q&A with the director and cast.
Throughout the final weekend (April 27th and 28th) of this month-long focus, there will be free screenings of a vast number of Irish shorts funded by the Irish Film Board over its 20 years. The screenings will run across the three IFI Cinemas and include rarely-seen works as well as popular award winners. Patrons can drop in and out of any of the screens to get a flavour of the variety of Irish shorts produced over the last 20 years. (Free but ticketed.)
Also during the final weekend, there will be two panel discussions focussing on new Irish film. The first will be a moderated talk between a selection of the directors whose work is being presented over the course of the month, who will talk about their films and their processes. The second discussion will focus on the state of Irish film as an artform and ask how Irish cinema is doing today, who is it for, and what is it for. Our guest speakers will consider the health of Irish film and invite audience participation. (Free but ticketed.)
Irish Screenings Weekend (April 26th – 28th)
We are delighted that Kieron J. Walsh’s new feature Jump will open the proceedings for this final weekend with a Gala Screening on April 26th (18.30) and a post-screening Q&A with Walsh to be followed by a wine reception. Jump will then begin a run for one week at the IFI.
Milo, an Irish-Dutch co-production, is the debut feature by filmmaker brothers Berend and Roel Boorsma. A striking film, the cinematography of the starkly beautiful Wicklow and Dublin landscape frames the story of ten-year-old Milo (Lorcan Bonner) whose life is strictly controlled by his overbearing father (Stuart Graham). We are delighted to be joined by some of the film’s cast members at this screening on April 27th (18.30), which will be followed by a wine reception.
On the final night, April 28th (18.30), the IFI is pleased to present the Irish premiere of Neil Jordan’s scintillating Byzantium, a gothic thriller adapted from Moira Buffini’s play A Vampire Story, starring Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton and Jonny Lee Miller. The IFI will welcome special guests to this screening which will be followed by a wine reception.
