Irish Film and Television UK (IFTUK) is delighted to bring its annual festival to the heart of London from November 13 to 17 at Vue West End, Vue Piccadilly and the ICA. BOOK TICKETS.
The festival opens with Aoife Kelleher’s feature documentary Mrs Robinson, an illuminating portrait of Ireland’s first female president, Mary Robinson. With extraordinary access, the film reveals a singularly influential force whose gift for bridging differences was instrumental in bringing about seismic change in Ireland – a skill she would later bring to her roles as UN High Commissioner and chair of Nelson Mandela’s independent group of world leaders, The Elders. Mrs Robinson pays tribute to a woman who remains actively committed to peace, justice, and human rights to this day.
From the highest echelons of Irish politics to the grit of the land itself, the festival is set to close with Christopher Andrews’ visceral feature debut Bring Them Down, a thriller set on a farm starring Barry Keoghan, Christopher Abbott and Colm Meaney. Shot in Wicklow, the film stunningly evokes rural Ireland through a nail-biting story of feuding shepherds, marking Andrews as an exciting name to watch.
Festival Director Michael Hayden comments: “The success of films such as Kneecap, That They May Face the Rising Sun and Small Things Like These has meant 2024 has been another bumper year for Irish cinema. Yet beyond the big hitters, there is a wealth of work being made in Ireland that does not get seen beyond its shores. This is the reason the Irish Film Festival London exists. We aim to give audiences in London and the UK access to work they might not get to see otherwise. We celebrate new and emerging filmmakers, acknowledge the contributions of more established ones and embrace the plurality of voices sounding in an evolving society. I am pleased to present a programme that I hope does all these things, and I am excited about hearing what our audiences make of it.”
In addition to spotlighting new talent, the Irish Film Festival will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Neil Jordan’s hugely influential classic The Company of Wolves with an exclusive screening. A cinematic breakthrough on its 1984 release, this unsettling Freudian fantasy, co-written with renowned author Angela Carter, is still lauded for its astonishing use of practical non-digital effects. A Q&A with director Neil Jordan will follow the screening.
Meanwhile, jumping off from its opening film, the festival continues to highlight compelling female perspectives with Housewife of the Year. Ciarán Cassidy’s frank and eye-opening documentary lifts the lid on one of Ireland’s most controversial and criticised shows. Cassidy charts the competition’s rise and fall against the backdrop of vast societal shifts in attitudes towards women and marriage.
Tanya Doyle’s feel-good sports documentary EAT / SLEEP / CHEER / REPEAT focuses on a troupe of male and female cheerleaders from Galway as they chase the dream of reaching Orlando, USA, for the World Championships of Cheer. An altogether darker foray into the world of sports comes with Maurice O’Carroll’s white-knuckle boxing drama Swing Bout. Starring Ciara Berkeley as an ambitious fighter with her eye on the prize, the story unpacks a tangled web of corruption, scandal, misogyny and accusations of murder. Alessandra Celesia’s remarkable CPH: DOX 2024 winning documentary ‘The Flats’ follows the residents of a run-down estate in the heart of Belfast. Depicting characters haunted by past violence, the film offers a compassionate portrait of a community grappling with its troubled past and dares us to hope.
Marion Quinn hits the festival with her long-anticipated second feature, Twig, an urban reimagining of the Greek tragedy Antigone. Set in Dublin’s dark, criminal underbelly, the film features Sade Malone in an electrifying performance as the title character, torn between loyalty and love.
Colm Quinn’s gripping investigative documentary Ransom 79 relives a shocking moment when, in 1979, Ireland’s Department of Agriculture received a demand for £5m from blackmailers threatening to release foot-and-mouth disease into the country’s livestock. More than simply a true crime, the film is a heartfelt tribute to the extraordinary RTÉ journalist Charlie Bird, who ran with the scoop while suffering from motor neuron disease.
The Irish Film Festival is also proud to present Perennial Light by visionary Cork filmmaker Colin Hickey. A meditation on grief and healing, the film combines live sequences gorgeously photographed in black and white with delicate animations by Paolo Chianta, confirming Hickey as one of Ireland’s most expressive and vital directorial voices today.
Winner of Best New Irish Feature at the Cork International Film Festival in 2023, Paul Mercier’s biting satire Prospect House makes a welcome addition to the line-up. Starring Barry Ward as a hot-headed director who leads an artistic collective in trying to save an 18th-century mansion, the film was shot on location in Enniscoe House, Mayo.
In the meantime, Dermot Malone seamlessly weaves between past and present in his striking debut feature, King Frankie. Subtly political, the film is propelled by Peter Coonan’s superb performance as a grieving taxi driver who once rode the tail of the Celtic Tiger as an ambitious businessman.
Dedicated to showcasing emerging talent, the Irish Film Festival will also include two New Irish Shorts programmes at the ICA, with six films about land and identity showing on November 15th and seven films about fate and kinship on November 16th. Three shorts were selected to play before features, including Our Father, the directorial debut of celebrated comedian and actor Aisling Bea. Her film will play before Swing Bout on Saturday, 16 November, at 18:00. Alongside the Public Programme, additional Irish Films will be available on the IFTUK App.
The Irish Film Festival will be followed by the Irish Film & Television UK Awards on Monday, 18 November. This star-studded, red-carpet event will take place at the Embassy of Ireland.
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