‘That irresistible cocktail of culture and craic that is the Irish Film Festival ‘
– Enda Murray.
Bookings now open.
2023 FESTIVAL DATES / LOCATIONS
5- 8 OCT: SYDNEY Dendy Cinema, Newtown
13-15 OCT: BRISBANE Dendy Cinema, Coorparoo
20-22 OCT: CANBERRA Dendy Cinema, Canberra
27-29 OCT: PERTH Luna Cinema, Leederville
2-5 NOV: MELBOURNE Cinema Nova, Carlton
Online across Australia OCT 5 – 15
For Bookings and details of films, city by city, see website for details, trailers, and for the latest news.
From The Banshees of Inisherin and The Quiet Girl, to Derry Girls, Bad Sisters and Normal People, the power and popularity of local Irish stories with universal themes is at an all time high.
With 16 films, including 15 Australian Premieres and multiple award winning titles and talent, the 9th Irish Film Festival Australia from October 5 to November 5 showcases the best dramas, most compelling documentaries and the famous Irish sense of humour. Among the highlights this year is opening night premiere Lakelands, an exploration of masculinity, loneliness and the role of sport in rural communities. The film struck a chord with Sydney Swans star Tadhg Kennelly, who grew up immersed in Gaelic football culture. ‘You could be bulletproof in the football club, but you always had your armour on and couldn’t show any vulnerability,‘ said Kennelly.
Oscar and BAFTA winning short film An Irish Goodbye explores themes of tradition, loss and family, whilst also addressing the issue of caring for someone with special needs. The self-deprecating Northern Irish gallows humour adds lightness to the story.
Beloved Oscar winner Olivia Colman deals with the ambivalence of motherhood in Joyride. With a script from BAFTA-winning Bad Sisters’ writer Ailbhe Keogan, Colman plays a woman struggling with the notion of motherhood.
The recent 25th anniversary of Northern Ireland’s Good Friday peace agreement also marked 4 years since journalist Lyra McKee was murdered in Derry, Northern Ireland. Lyra is a documentary about a young talent lost to terrorism. Directed by her friend, documentarian Alison Millar, the film touches on Lyra’s groundbreaking work in telling stories on intergenerational trauma, suicide and LGBTQI+ rights.
It is not the only feature to deal with Ireland’s dark past. Ann is a dramatisation of the events that led to the death of teenager Ann Lovett while giving birth in 1984. Her death sparked a movement that led to the end of Ireland’s abortion ban. Directed by Ciaran Creagh, the film looks at how this case played a role in Ireland’s transformation from conservative Catholicism to secular liberalism. The documentary Pray for Our Sinners also tells the story of the Irish campaigners who took on brutal church abuse of young pregnant women in a small Irish town.
The Irish are renowned not just for their storytelling but also for their love of the ‘craic’. The Irish Film Festival Opening Nights in each city will be preceded by a Gala reception with complimentary drinks, live Irish music and a guaranteed warm welcome. Audiences will also have exclusive behind-the-scenes access to films via Q&A sessions with Festival Director Dr Enda Murray and a selection of Directors and cast.
The Films
CINEMA PROGRAM
After an attack on a night out, Cian, a young Gaelic footballer, struggles to come to terms with a career-ending injury.Lakelands follows him as he undertakes a search for his own identity in a small town, where football is a religion and identity is defined by what you can do on the pitch.
Awards: Galway Film Fleadh: Best Irish Feature Film. Bingham Ray New Talent Award: Éanna Hardwicke. Danielle Galligan.
Plus Q&A with Director Robert Higgins and actor Éanna Hardwicke
Following the death of their mother, a young man with Down’s Syndrome and his estranged brother discover her unfulfilled bucket list. As questions arise about the inheritance of land and of new responsibilities, Lorcan’s agency in deciding his own future as an adult with Down’s Syndrome comes into focus.
Awards: Academy Award for Best Short Film (Live Action), BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film
A documentary about a young talent lost to terrorism. Lyra McKee was a remarkable young LGBTQI+ journalist murdered in Derry, Northern Ireland in 2019 after a life fearlessly committed to truth and justice. Directed by her friend, documentarian Alison Millar, the film seeks answers to her senseless killing through Lyra’s own work and words.
Awards: Tim Hetherington award Sheffield DocFest; Audience Award Cork International Film Festival.
Plus Q&A with Director Alison Millar
Oscar Winner Olivia Colman plays a headstrong solicitor whose plan to offload her newborn baby to her sister is derailed when a vulnerable but opinionated teenager steals their taxi. Directed by Emer Reynolds with a script by Ailbhe Keogan (BAFTA Award Winning ‘Bad Sisters’).
Plus Q&A with Director Emer Reynolds and Actor Charlie Reid
Ballywalter (Sydney only)
A life affirming comedy drama about the unexpected connections that can change the course of our lives. Set in Northern Ireland, it tells the story of a budding stand-up comedian, played by Patrick Kielty, and the university drop-out illegal minicab driver, Seána Kerslake (Bad Sisters) who picks him up.
Plus Q&A with Director Prasanna Puwanarajah and Actor Seána Kerslake
Ann is a dramatisation of the death of Ann Lovett while giving birth in 1984. One morning, 15-year-old girl Ann Lovett (Zara Devlin) wakes up and can feel that she is in labour. A victim of the religious oppression of her family and of her society, Ann cannot help but panic and gives birth to a baby boy beneath a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Plus Q&A with Director, Ciaran Creagh
North Circular is a multi award-winning documentary musical exploring the history, music and streetscapes of the legendary North Circular Road that links some of Dublin’s most beloved and infamous places.
Awards: Best Documentary Louth International Film Festival 2022; The Spirit of IndieCork IndieCork Film Festival 2022
Plus Q&A with Director Luke McManus
This Inspirational documentary recovers the stories of those who dared to question the treatment of women and children in a small Irish town.
Awards: Hamptons international Film Festival 2022; Golden Starfish Award Documentary Feature
Plus Q&A with Director Sinéad O’Shea
A widow believes that a stray dog is inhabited by the spirit of her late husband in Róise & Frank, a gentle Gaelic-language story set in a small coastal village. Writer/Directors Rachael Moriarty and Peter Murphy understand that grief is not just about what we remember about the person we miss, but what we fear forgetting.
Awards: Dublin International Film Festival Best Ensemble; Santa Barbara Film Festival The Audience Award Winner
Plus Q&A with Director Rachael Moriarty and Actor Bríd Ní Neachtain.
A Londoner returns to his ancestral homeland in the west of Ireland and is drawn in by a teenage boy who almost kills him in a car crash. Actress-filmmaker Antonia Campbell-Hughes skilfully explores the essence of being alive in the wake of a near-death experience.
Awards: Special Jury Recognition for Extraordinary Cinematic Vision at SXSW
Plus Q&A with Director Antonia Cambell-Hughes
Taking Roots (Music) to Australia – An Irish-Ghanaian Celebration
What happens when an 8 piece Ghanaian drum ensemble meets a Sydney Irish trad band? World Premiere of this short documentary.
‘Mincéir’ is a documentary that brings the audience on a journey across the Irish Traveller’s history, their past traditions, present transitions and future views. The documentary is driven by progressive, modern traveller women who have fought to follow their passions and become independent.
Rosa and David, two lost souls, try to escape a desolate purgatory town. They must find a rare ticket and overcome their own personal struggles before becoming stuck in this limbo forever.
Shame/Less transports the viewer on a kaleidoscopic cruise through Dublin’s queer underbelly.
Father Des – The Way He Saw It
A Belfast priest with a socialist outloo who in following the path of Jesus felt it necessary to disengage from the Church hierarchy.
The Peculiar Sensation of Being Pat Ingoldsby
Pat Ingoldsby’s poems and stories reveal a visceral relationship with his beloved Dublin and anything that catches his interest.
ONLINE PROGRAMME
Taking Roots (Music) to Australia – An Irish-Ghanaian C elebration
Tinteán 