Daily Festival Schedule
Film // Baite 7pm
Runtime: 94 mins
Directed by Ruán Magan
Starring: Eleanor O’Brien, Moe Dunford and Oisín Mistéil
Since the death of her parents, PEGGY CASEY (23) has not only been running her father’s pub, Tigh Casey, located by a lake in a small rural Gaeltacht, she has been doing a great job of keeping it open. She does not understand how her sister CARLA and her brothers JEROME and HUGO want to sell the pub and live their lives elsewhere. Peggy realizes that selling would mean the end of her family, and she is determined to stop them.
Just as things are coming to a head, with Hugo returning so they can finally vote on the future of Tigh Casey, a body is found under the receding waters of the lake. It is generally assumed to be a forgotten grave from the old cemetery, part of the ghost village located at the bottom of the lake. But when Detective FRANK RYAN is sent from Dublin to investigate, it is understood that more is involved. Not only does the detective’s arrival indicate that the area is in bad shape, which Peggy is not happy about, but his questions also shed light on the Caseys’ difficult relationship.
During this hot, dry weekend at the end of September 1975, Detective Ryan’s investigation will not only reveal the terrible truth behind the dead woman’s story, but will also reveal the
deepest secrets of the Casey family.
Special Guest: Producer John Brady will be joining for us for a post film Q&A
Short Film Program 1 - 11am
Total Run Length: 91 mins
Gael Force – In 1999, Irish national broadcaster RTÉ announced that its weather forecasters would be replaced by attractive young television presenters. But the people of Ireland had something to say about that.
Wake Chapter 4 – “Toronto’s enterprising One Little Goat Theatre Company” (New York Times) continues its cinematic journey through James Joyce’s divine and delirious comedy, Finnegans Wake as brought to life by the virtuosic performance of Irish-Canadian actor Richard Harte, directed by Adam Seelig, filmed live in Toronto.
Art of the Language – A poetic look at three Artists and the relationship between the Irish language and their work.
Tíolacadh (Devine Gift) – a story of tentative healing between a father and his daughter (Aine) whose relationship has been strained and distant because of his infidelity and second marriage. Their reconnection is brought about through an unlikely bonding between Aine and her half-sister, when Aine visits her old hometown in the Gaeltacht for the first time in many years.
The Invitation – When neuro-diverse Alex is invited to a party, his over-anxious parents go into overdrive to protect him
TrasnanaLíne (Across the Line) – a mockumentary comedy following student teacher Emma, who through a white lie finds herself working at a Dublin Gaelscoil without a word of Irish.
Lived Once Buried Twice – a spine-tingling true tale of two graverobbers who think they’ve hit the jackpot when they hear of an invaluable ring buried six feet under.
John Gunning: Big in Japan – The story of an Irishman who went to Japan and became a sumo wrestler.
Film // Ballroom Boom 2pm
Starring: Adam Clayton
Start Time: 2pm
Runtime: 85 mins
U2’s Adam Clayton explores the phenomenal rise and fall of Irish showbands when over 700 bands and thousands of musicians (including future rock heroes Van Morrison and Rory Gallagher) performed the latest chart hits live in ballrooms most nights of the week during the 1960s.
40 years before U2 performed at The Sphere, Irish-born trailblazer Bill Fuller promoted showbands in Las Vegas as well as opening up ballrooms across North America and Britain for Irish emigrants who gave birth to an extraordinary generation of UK talent, including Dusty Springfield, three Beatles, Oasis, Johnny Rotten and The Smiths. But one shocking event tore the Irish music scene apart. On July 31st, 1975, rogue British “soldiers” murdered three members of The Miami, then Ireland’s most popular showband, across the Northern Irish border. Survivor Steve Travers recalls that tragic night that is often called ‘the night the music died’.
Special Guest: Aideen O’Brien – daughter of Dixie Showband member Brendan O’Brien, who is featured in the documentary will join us for a post film Q&A
Film // Beat the Lotto 4:45pm
Start Time: 4:45pm
Runtime: 85 mins
A rip-roaring tale about the mathematician who, along with a ragtag syndicate, plotted to fix Ireland’s National Lottery in 1992, captivating the nation and sparking rabid debate.
In Ireland, the public became obsessed when the National Lottery arrived, none more so than mathematician and avid stamp-collector Stefan Klincewicz. Using mathematical analysis, he reckoned the system could be beaten if he could just gather enough people to form a syndicate to buy every single ticket combination – and front up all the cash, of course. Director Ross Whitaker fashions this unbelievable true story into a gripping thriller, mirroring the tension felt by the public as the lottery authorities caught wind of the plan. With insightful interviews and fantastic archival footage, the film is a look back at Ireland in the 1990s and a compelling tale of one man’s attempt to outsmart the system.
Special Guest: Director Ross Whittaker will be joining for us for a post film Q&A
Film // Christy 7:45pm
Starring: Danny Power, Diarmuid Noyes and Emma Willis
Start Time: 7:45pm
Runtime: 94 mins
The life of 17-year-old Christy is at a crossroads. He has just been thrown out of his comfortable suburban foster home and moved in with his estranged older brother Shane, who lives in Cork’s working-class north side. As far as Shane is concerned, this is just a temporary arrangement. But Christy begins to feel at home, becomes involved in the local community and makes friends. And, in spite of the bad reputation of his extended family, he also reconnects with his past – even though Shane tries to steer him away from this crowd. Shane wants something better for Christy at all costs, even if that means he has to push him away. After spending so many years apart, the brothers are now faced with the task of reconciling with their turbulent pasts and deciding what the future might look like.
Short Film Program 2 - 11:30am
Total Run Length: 97 mins
Whins – On Daire’s final morning at home, everything seems as it has always been. He has breakfast with his sister Saorlaith, before she drives him to the airport. A lifelong inclination to never discuss what is actually at hand leads to meaningless conversations and arguments. The push and pull of a sibling relationship leads them along winding roads to the airport, where they refuse to say goodbye.
Our Father – In 1960s rural Ireland, a priest is called to the bedside of a parishioner, the wife of a prominent politician. She has just given birth. Whilst her husband has gone out to celebrate, she confides a secret in the priest and asks him for help.
Heartsick – Following the end of a significant relationship, Jess is left reeling. In order to put shape on her slowly spiraling life, Jess decides to pen an email to her former person detailing just how fine she is. HEARTSICK is a bittersweet break-up story with a twist.
The Other Mother – A loving mother searches for forgiveness after her son betrays his best friend to a local drug dealer.
A Little Bird Told Me – A teenage girl caring for her seriously ill father attempts to contact the spirit of rock star Phil Lynott- to prove to her dad there’s life beyond death.
Three Kennings – A man’s personal life begins to encroach on his unusual job as a professional mourner.
Vanilla – When a villager meets his local doctor in the pub, the doctor reveals a test he carried out to confirm the legitimacy of his newborn baby.
The Liberties of Paddy and Bang Bang – Paddy recounts his life in The Liberties during Bang Bang’s reign in this vérité documentary merging working-class lives in a bygone Dublin era.
Éire agusnaChéadNáisiúin 2:pm
Start Time: 2pm
Runtime: 80 mins
The incredible untold story of how Irish people interacted with the First Nations of North America, with contributions from some of Ireland’s leading historians along with a new wave of First Nations academics and commentators.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Irish people were trading and intermarrying with native people and later fighting against them as part of the 7th Cavalry. Our attitude to the First Nations reflected a deep division within our own psyche. We were both friends and foes, who, having lost our land, settled in theirs. This film looks at the domino effect of colonialism, showing our journey into North America from our perspective, and through the eyes of the people we displaced.
Film // Birdsong 4:30pm
Runtime: 52 mins
Start Time: 4:30pm
Ornithologist Seán Ronayne from Cobh, Co. Cork is on a mission to record the sound of every bird species in Ireland – that’s nearly 200 birds. Often joined by his partner Alba, he travels to some of the country’s most beautiful and remote locations to capture its most elusive species and soundscapes: the busy seabird colony of Skellig Michael; a native woodland free from road noise in the Burren; the corncrake stronghold of Tory Island; a solitary nest in the Donegal uplands. Along the way we get to know Seán, whose hypersensitivity to sound has proven both a struggle and a strength. At once inspiring and cautionary, Seán’s journey illustrates the beauty and importance of sound, and what listening can tell us about the state of our natural world.
Special Guest: Producer Ross Whittaker will be joining for us for a post film Q&A
Preceded by: // CineálFiáin (Wild Kind)
Voiced by three generations of one family, WildKind is a poem painted to awaken the senses, a fluid journey of hope and healing across our shared watercolour motherland. A universal bedtime story, a call to nurture a life wild and kind.
Film // Four Letters of Love 7:15pm
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Gabriel Byrne, Helena Bonham Carter, Pat Shortt, ann Skelly and Fionn O’Shea
Start Time: 7:15pm
Runtime: 125 mins
Nicholas (O’Shea) and Isabel (Skelly) are made for each other, but fate does not always choose the easiest path to true love. As destiny pulls them together, so do family, passion, and faith drive them apart.
Nicholas’ father, William (Brosnan), comes home one day to shatter his family’s quiet, modest life. He tells them that in a moment of divine intervention, God has instructed him to dedicate his life to painting. He quits his job and sets off for the coast, leaving his shellshocked wife and son to fend for themselves.
Meanwhile Isabel and her family live a charmed existence on a nearby small neighbouring island, their house full of music and poetry. When tragedy strikes and her brother suffers a terrible accident, the music stops, and Isabel’s parents (Bonham Carter, Byrne) decide in their grief to send Isabel to a convent school on the mainland.
The young lovers embark on their own individual journeys of heartache and misplaced love, before fate contrives to pull the threads of their lives together. When they meet, it will be like a miracle.
Adapted from the popular novel by Niall Williams.
