David Lean
Retrospective SEASONS
APRIL 2025 AT THE IFI
FESTIVALS
IBERSCREEN 2025
IFI ARCHIVE PLAYER
The Louis Marcus Collection
FOUR MOTHERS
DARREN THORNTON
APRIL AT THE IFI
IFI NEW RELEASES, DOCS & CLASSICS
FOUR MOTHERS FROM FRI 4TH
RESTLESS FROM FRI 4TH
THE MOST PRECIOUS OF CARGOES FROM FRI 4TH
HOLY COW FROM FRI 11TH
ONE TO ONE:
JOHN & YOKO FROM FRI 11TH
THE RETURN FROM FRI 11TH
SINS OF IRELAND FROM FRI 18TH
THE PENGUIN LESSONS FROM FRI 18TH
FRÉWAKA FROM FRI 25TH
JULIE KEEPS QUIET FROM FRI 25TH
CONTENTS
IFI SEASONS PAGE 4
IFI FESTIVALS PAGE 9
IFI SPECIAL EVENTS PAGE 15
IFI NEW RELEASES, DOCS & CLASSICS PAGE 22 IFI@HOME PAGE 27
Open Captioned screening
Audio Described screenings available on selected titles, ask at Box Office for details
BOOKING FEES
Online and telephone bookings are subject to a booking fee of €1.00 per transaction. There are no booking fees on any ticket purchase made in person at the IFI Box Office.
POINTS
Members and Loyalty Card holders accrue points which can be exchanged for complimentary tickets.
C CINEMA ONLY H IFI@HOME ONLY & CINEMA & IFI@HOME
For bookings and film information, please see our website, www.ifi.ie, or contact the IFI Box Office on 01-6793477 (open 12.30 to 21.00 daily) or at 6 Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2.
ADMISSION PRICES* Standard Price (Concession Price)
Preview Screening Pricing: Non-Member: €16.00 (€14.00) / IFI Member: €14.00 (€12.50)
*regular IFI screenings, excluding special events ** plus €1.50 Daily Membership Fee
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The F-rating is a classification reserved for any film which is directed and/or written by a woman.
Films not classified by IFCO, including festival, one-off, and special screenings, are exhibited under Club rules and are restricted to persons 18 years and over. If you are not an IFI member, a daily membership (€1.50) is required for unclassified films, and this will be added to your transaction.
The exclusivity of films is correct at the time of print. All films exclusive to the IFI are kindly supported by the Arts Council.
SEASONS & EVENTS AT A GLANCE C
2ND
3RD
5TH
6TH
DAVID LEAN: THIS HAPPY BREED
7TH
8TH IFI CINEMA CLUB: THE MOST PRECIOUS OF CARGOES + POST-SCREENING DISCUSSION
9TH
DAVID LEAN: BLITHE SPIRIT
10TH
12TH
13TH
16TH
IFI SEASONS PRESENTS
DAVID LEAN: PART 1
Few British filmmakers have created a body of work as respected and influential as that of Sir David Lean (1908 – 1951), with seven of his 16 films seeing him Oscar-nominated (twice winning) in the category of Best Director. Starting as teaboy at Gaumont Studios, Lean worked his way up to editor on numerous features, including a number of Powell and Pressburger titles, before taking to the director’s chair. Moving from chamber pieces such as Brief Encounter (1945) to some of cinema’s greatest epics, including Lawrence Of Arabia (1962), Lean proved remarkably adept at creating indelible imagery, and never lost sight of the intimate human relationships at each film’s core, whatever its scale. This month’s selection, projecting entirely from 35mm, offers audiences the chance not just to experience some rare screenings, but also to see the films as they were always intended to be seen, on the big screen, and on celluloid.
The season will continue in May. Season notes by Kevin Coyne.
This season is supported by Expert Air.
David Lean on the set of Great Expectations
IN WHICH WE SERVE
NOËL COWARD & DAVID LEAN
SAT 5TH (15.30)
David Lean graduated from editor to director on In Which We Serve, co-directed with the multi-talented Noël Coward, the key source of inspiration in the early stages of his career. Inspired by the naval exploits of Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten, and fully supported by the British government, the film is filled with the patriotic imagery and themes frequent in British cinema of the time as it recounts the bravery of the crew of HMS Torrin following a German attack. The cast includes future Lean collaborators John Mills and Celia Johnson, as well as Richard Attenborough making his (brief) screen debut.
THIS HAPPY BREED
SUN 6TH (16.00)
Lean made his solo directorial debut, and debut as screenwriter, with this adaptation of Noël Coward’s play that follows London’s Gibbons family from adapting to the post-war peace of 1919 to facing the inevitability of a new conflict in 1939. Headed by Frank (Robert Newton) and Ethel (Celia Johnson), the Gibbons are touched by love when daughter Queenie (Kay Walsh) is romanced by neighbour Billy (John Mills), but also by tragedy as the years pass. Filmed in Technicolor, This Happy Breed was the biggest hit of its year at the UK box office, marking Lean as a talent to watch.
115 mins, UK, 1942, 35mm, Black & White
114 mins, UK, 1944, 35mm
BLITHE SPIRIT
BRIEF ENCOUNTER
WED 9TH (18.20)
Blithe Spirit was considered a disappointment by many of its participants, including producer Anthony Havelock-Ellen, who believed it miscast (many of the cast, including Rex Harrison and Margaret Rutherford, seemed to agree), and Noël Coward, who had resisted approaches from Hollywood in favour of Lean, only to accuse the director of ruining what he believed to be his best play. Despite this, this supernatural comedy in which novelist Charles Condomine (Harrison) finds his second marriage interrupted by the ghost of his first wife (Kay Hammond) following Madame Arcati’s (Rutherford) séance stands as one of Lean’s most enduring and popular films.
WED 16TH (18.30)
Lean’s second film of 1945, and his final collaboration with Noël Coward, is in an entirely different register to Blithe Spirit , and is arguably the first of his films to display a true mastery of the medium. Laura (Celia Johnson) and Alec (Trevor Howard) meet after one of her weekly cinema visits. What begins as a chance meeting becomes a regular appointment. Even as they return to their respective spouses, their feelings for each other grow, and they must decide what path to take. Brief Encounter’s aching romance has granted it a permanent place in the canon of British cinema.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
OLIVER
SAT 19TH (15.45)
Lean followed his collaborations with Coward by bringing to the screen the work of Charles Dickens in a pair of films still considered among the very best adaptations of the great writer. In fact, in the case of the double Oscar-winning Great Expectations, it is hard to disagree with critic Roger Ebert’s assessment of it as “the greatest of all the Dickens films”. At least in part, this is down to the magnificent casting, with John Mills (Pip), Valerie Hobson (Estella), Martita Hunt (Miss Havisham), Finlay Currie (Magwitch), and Alec Guinness (Herbert Pocket) bringing these familiar characters to life beautifully.
SUN 20TH (15.45)
Although Carol Reed’s Oliver! (1968) is perhaps the most popular adaptation, and the depiction of Fagin by Alec Guinness in Lean’s version has been problematic since the film’s release, there is much to admire and enjoy in this take on Dickens’s beloved second novel. Orphaned Oliver’s journey from workhouse to the streets of squalid, Victorian London, a city of frequent cruelty and injustice, as one of a gang of pickpockets is brought to vivid life by John Howard Davies (Oliver), Robert Newton (Bill Sykes), Kay Walsh (Nancy), and Anthony Newley (the Artful Dodger), and by the striking, German Expressionist-influenced cinematography.
THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS
THUR 22ND (18.20)
Based on a novel by H.G. Wells, The Passionate Friends was a return to romantic drama in the vein of Brief Encounter. Ann Todd stars as Mary, married to Howard (Claude Rains), but pining for paramour Steven (Trevor Howard), who has returned to her life. The film was a more lavish production than Lean’s previous films, making full use of its glamorous European locations. Rains in particular excels in a film frequently overlooked in favour of its more distinguished antecedent. It was the first of Lean’s three collaborations with Todd, who would also become the third of his six wives.
WED 30TH (18.20)
Lean regarded this, his eighth film in less than a decade, as the least of his films, made largely as a wedding present to Todd, who had played the role of Madeleine Smith on stage. Based on a true story, Smith was a Glasgow woman accused in 1857 of the murder of her French lover, Emile L’Angelier (Ivan Desny). While her father, unaware of this relationship, encourages her to marry a man of wealth and position, Madeleine begins to question Emile’s motives. Lean’s characterisation of the film has seen it unfairly maligned; indeed, it is very much worthy of rediscovery.
IBERSCREEN FILM FESTIVAL 2025
FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE IBEROAMERICANO EN IRLANDA
From Thursday, April 24th to Sunday, April 27th, the Irish Film Institute hosts IBERSCREEN 2025, Ireland’s only Ibero-American Film Festival. Focusing on films with a socially relevant theme, IBERSCREEN aims to make connections, and start conversations between audiences and filmmakers.
Celebrating the rich and diverse cinematic voices of Ibero-America, the festival brings together the best films from countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Peru, and Colombia, showcasing stories that inspire, challenge, and captivate. From bold new voices to established auteurs, the programme highlights the depth of storytelling and the cultural vibrancy of the region.
Join us for an unforgettable journey through compelling narratives, groundbreaking documentaries, and visionary filmmaking. Whether you're a cinephile or simply curious about the dynamic world of Ibero-American cinema, this festival is your gateway to discovering unique perspectives and powerful storytelling.
Festival notes by Teresa Laviña, unless otherwise stated.
Kill
The Jockey
KILL THE JOCKEY RAMÓN Y RAMÓN
(EL JOCKEY)
THUR 24TH (18.30)
Once-celebrated jockey Remo (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) has seen his fortunes wane as he struggles with addiction and erratic behaviour. His girlfriend, Abril (Úrsula Corberó), also a jockey, finds herself torn between her rising career and her tumultuous relationship with Remo. The pair are entangled with Sirena, a gangster who once saved Remo’s life. After a tragic accident results in the death of a valuable horse, Remo becomes a fugitive, disappearing into the underbelly of Buenos Aires. Sirena, feeling betrayed, places a bounty on Remo's head, prompting a city-wide manhunt.
FRI 25TH (18.20)
After receiving the ashes of his father, with whom he had a troubled relationship, Ramón (Emanuel Soriano) meets Mateo (Álvaro Cervantes), a young Spaniard stranded in his building during Covid-19 lockdown. Although they are very different, a deep relationship develops between them. Mateo decides to stay and accompanies Ramón on a journey to take his father’s ashes to Huancayo, his homeland. On the way, Ramón will realise that he was looking for answers to the wrong questions, and that he must heal from within in order to move on.
LUIS ORTEGA SALVADOR DEL SOLAR
THE FRESHLY CUT GRASS LA SUPREMA
(EL AROMA DEL PASTO RECIÉN CORTADO)
CELINA MURGA
FRI 25TH (20.40)
Natalia (Marina de Tavira) is a geology professor and mother of two daughters. Her marriage to Hernán has lost its spark, leading her to develop an attraction to handsome grad student Gonzalo. Concurrently, Pablo (Jaoquín Furriel), a colleague at the same institution, is experiencing a midlife crisis. Despite being married with two sons, he embarks on an affair with Luciana, one of his students. With an ingenious parallel narrative structure, director and co-writer Celina Murga crafts an involving portrait of two lives at crucial junctures, executively produced by Martin Scorsese.
FELIPE HOLGUIN CARO
SAT 26TH (12.40)
This first feature from writer/director Felipe Holguin Caro takes us to the town of La Suprema, a remote Columbian village in the Caribbean region. When teenager Laureana finds out her estranged uncle will be boxing for the world championship, she is determined to watch the fight, she has to reckon with the fact that the town has no electricity and no television. Against the odds, Laureana enlists her friends and her uncle’s former trainer, Efraim, to bring the fight, and electricity, to her community. A wonderful insight into rural life in Columbia, with a terrific lead performance.
IFI Age Recommendation: 12+
83 mins, Colombia, 2023, Digital, Subtitled Notes by Alicia McGivern
WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED RITA
(NO NOS MOVERÁN)
PIERRE SAINT-MARTIN
SAT 26TH (14.40)
Socorro (Luisa Huertas), a 67-year-old Mexican lawyer, is resolute in her quest to find the soldier responsible for her brother's death during the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre, an obsession which has taken a toll upon her relationship with her older sister Esperanza, and her son, Jorge. When she uncovers a crucial lead about the soldier's whereabouts, Socorro embarks upon a daring mission to avenge the death of her brother, risking her legacy, her family, and her own life. Shot in luminous black-and-white, the film offers a unique perspective on historical trauma and personal healing.
PAZ VEGA
CINEMAS: SAT 26TH (17.00)
IFI@HOME: STREAMING NOW!
Rita, the directorial debut of Paz Vega, is set in the summer of 1984 where seven-year-old Rita (Sofía Allepuz) and her five-year-old brother, Lolo (Alejandro Escamilla), live in a humble workingclass neighbourhood with their parents. Through Rita's eyes, we witness the oppressive heat, her father's mood swings, and her mother's anxiety and hushed phone conversations. In an attempt to escape her surroundings, Rita takes refuge in her imagination, searching for a way to bear the unbearable, in what will turn out to be her last summer as an innocent child.
The screening will be preceded by short film Azkena (9 mins).
I AM NEVENKA TRASLADOS
(SOY NEVENKA)
ICÍAR BOLLAÍN
SAT 26TH (19.50)
I Am Nevenka portrays the landmark sexual harassment case of Nevenka Fernández (Mireia Oriol), a young municipal finance councillor in Ponferrada, Spain. In 2001, Fernández accused the town's mayor, Ismael Álvarez, of sexual harassment, making it the first high-profile case of its kind in Spain. Icíar Bollaín’s film delves into Fernández's courageous legal battle against Álvarez, highlighting the societal backlash and media scrutiny she faced during a time when such accusations were seldom brought to light. Despite the challenges, her case marked a significant moment in the fight against workplace harassment in Spain.
The screening will be preceded by short film AVA (18 mins) .
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Icíar Bollaín, hosted by Teresa Laviña.
NICOLÁS GIL LAVEDRA
SUN 27TH (13.15)
Nicolás Gil Lavedra’s documentary investigates the campaign of terror conducted during Argentina's last military dictatorship (1976-1983). During this period, the regime employed extrajudicial killings by drugging detainees and throwing them from aircraft over the Río de la Plata and the Atlantic Ocean, aiming to eliminate political dissidents and suppress opposition. Traslados, meaning transfers, meticulously pieces together evidence of these notorious ‘death flights’ through powerful testimonies from former detainees, the families of victims, along with archival footage, animations, and recreations.
MANAS PORTRAIT OF A CERTAIN ORIENT
MARIANNA BRENNAND FORTES
MEMORIES OF A BURNING BODY
(MEMORIAS DE UN CUERPO QUE ARDE)
(RETRATO DE UM CERTO ORIENTE)
ANTONELLA SUDASASSI MARCELO GOMES
SUN 27TH (18.00) SUN 27TH (15.30)
A poignant Brazilian-Portuguese coming-of-age drama, Manas follows 13-year-old Marcielle, affectionately known as Tielle (portrayed by newcomer Jamilli Correa) as she navigates life in a riverside community on Marajó Island. Inspired by her older sister's escape, Tielle harbours dreams of a different life. However, as she matures, she becomes increasingly aware of the deepseated exploitation and abuse that pervade her community. Increasingly worried about her younger sister and the uncertain future they face, she decides to confront the oppressive system that controls her family and the women in their community.
Raised in a repressive era where sexuality was taboo, Ana, Patricia, and Mayela found their understanding of womanhood based on unspoken rules and implicit impositions. Now, their fearless voices incarnate in a single 65-year-old woman, portrayed by Sol Carballo, who revisits a kaleidoscopic life of intertwined memories, secrets, and hidden desires. A docudrama that intertwines the experiences of three women into a single narrative, Memories of a Burning Body explores the complexities of female sexuality and identity, whilst addressing themes of domestic violence, stifled ambitions, and resilience.
27TH (20.20)
Set in the late 1940s, as Lebanon teeters on the brink of a devastating conflict, Portrait of a certain Orient follows Emilie (Wafa'a Celine Halawi), and her brother Emir (Zakaria Al Kaakour), as they decide to embark on a journey to Brazil in search of a new beginning. Against the backdrop of the majestic Amazon rainforest, the siblings encounter indigenous communities and confront their own prejudices and desires. During their voyage, Emilie forms a deep connection with Omar (Charbel Kamel), a Muslim merchant. This burgeoning relationship incites intense jealousy in Emir, who struggles to adapt to their new surroundings.
ARCHIVE AT LUNCHTIME
DUBLIN CAN BE HEAVEN
Join us for FREE lunchtime screenings of films from the IFI Irish Film Archive. Simply collect your tickets online (with a small booking fee) or at IFI Box Office.
PROGRAMME ONE
DUBLIN OF THE WELCOMES
This thinly veiled advertisement for Irish Sweepstake tickets was made for the US and UK market at a time when gambling was illegal in those territories. It opens with a whistle-stop tour of Dublin locations before showing massive Sweepstake operations – which employed thousands of female clerical workers in Ireland in the 1930s.
25 mins, Ireland, 1936, Digital, Black & White
PROGRAMME TWO
DUBLIN’S FAIR CITY
Filmed in glorious colour, visitors arrive at Dublin Airport to enjoy the cultural and architectural delights of Dublin City, the river Liffey and the seaside at Killiney, Dalkey Island, Dun Laoghaire, and Sandycove.
Dir. Rex Roberts. 30 mins, Ireland, 1956, Digital
See also IFI & One Dublin One Book: About Adam on pg. 16.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
THE LOVE WITCH
ANNA BILLER
THUR 3RD (18.10)
This month’s Bigger Picture choice is from the GALPAL Collective’s Lulit Luis who will present this dark supernatural horror comedy by US feminist writer-director Anna Biller. It's the story of Elaine, a modern-day witch, who concocts potions in her apartment that she’ll serve up to men to get them to fall in love with her, with disastrous results. With nods to 1960s horror, the richly coloured visuals recall the splendour of technicolour melodramas, while the plot itself offers an exploration of gender roles and female fantasy, accompanied by a terrific performance from Samantha Robinson as Elaine.
120
mins, USA, 2016, Digital Notes by Alicia McGivern
IFI SPECIAL EVENTS
IFI & AEMI
FROM THE VAULTS: ABOUT ADAM AT THE HEART OF THE REAL
MON 7TH (18.30)
At the centre of the four films in this aemi-curated programme is an interest in how bodies connect to and through their environment, how nature seeps into us and in turn is made and corrupted by us. Made collaboratively in four disparate contexts - Dublin, Wicklow, Jamaica and Winnipeg - each film circles around ideas of community; ideas of home, ritual, friendship, myth and memory. Shot on analogue and digital formats, these DIY, independent films offer ways of remaking the world amongst and against pervasive systems of control.
PROGRAMME INFO:
Parish. Dir. Eóin Heaney. 25 mins, Ireland, 2023, Digital Without A Heart Fragments. Dir. Rik Higashikawa. 8 mins, Ireland, 2024, Digital
A River Holds A Perfect Memory. Dir. Hope Pearl Strickland. 17 mins, UK, 2024, Digital
Fort Garry Lions Pool. Dir. Ryan Steel. 6 mins, Canada, 2024, Digital
aemi is delighted to welcome filmmakers Eóin Heaney and Rik Higashikawa to take part in a Q&A after the screening.
aemi is an Arts Council-funded organisation dedicated to the support and development of artist film in Ireland. For more details visit www.aemi.ie
Total running time: 56 mins
GERRY STEMBRIDGE
SAT 12TH (15.00)
Echoing the themes of the 'Dublin Written in Our Hearts ' anthology, About Adam is a romantic-comedy which wholly captures the free-spirited nature of Dublin in Celtic Tiger times. The film hinges on the enigmatic Adam (Stuart Townsend), a dynamic and unpredictable lothario who woos waitress Lucy Owens (Kate Hudson), followed by her two sisters and then her brother. Despite the infidelity and betrayals, the family - sisters Laura (Frances O’Connor) and Alice (Charlotte Bradley); brother David (Alan Maher); and their irrepressible mother (Rosaleen Linehan) - find their lives invigorated by this handsome rogue.
The film will be introduced by director, screenwriter, and novelist Gerry Stembridge.
This event is free but ticketed. Tickets can be collected from IFI Box Office, booked online (€1.00 booking fee), or by phone (01 679 3477).
93 mins, Ireland-UK-USA, 2000, Digital Notes by Sunniva O'Flynn
NEIL YOUNG: COASTAL FROM HILDE, WITH LOVE
(IN LIEBE, EURE HILDE)
ANDREAS DRESEN
SUN 13TH (15.30)
Berlin, 1942: Hilde (Liv Lisa Fries) has fallen in love with Hans (Johannes Hegemann). But amid the passion there is grave danger; Hans becomes involved in the Red Orchestra, a group of young anti-Nazi revolutionary freedom fighters. Hilde is a reluctant participant in their clandestine activities, writing leaflets and helping to communicate to Moscow through an illegal radio receiver. She is arrested by the Gestapo and gives birth to a son in prison. Director Andreas Dresen shuffles the timelines of Hilde’s extraordinary true story, so we begin with her arrest and incarceration before cycling back to her fateful meeting with Hans, resulting in a powerful, perfectly balanced, and ultimately profoundly moving film.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Andreas Dresen.
DARYL HANNAH
THUR 18TH (18.30)
Take a journey with maverick musician Neil Young in this personal, behind-the-scenes doc as he cruises the coast on his recent solo tour. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker and Young’s wife, Daryl Hannah, Coastal offers a glimpse behind the curtain of this unguarded iconoclast, as he navigates a return to the stage post-Covid – from his everyday observations on the bus to his candid, wry banter with his audience. The illuminating film also features songs rarely, if ever played live, performed in breathtakingly beautiful theaters.
125 mins, Germany, 2024, Digital, Subtitled Notes by David
105 mins, 2024, USA, Digital
O Mahony
MYSTERY MATINEE
MYSTERY MATINEE
SUN 20TH (13.00)
??? Join us for this month’s screening at 13.00 on Sunday, April 20th. The film chosen could be anything from throughout the history of cinema, from a silent classic to a preview of a hotly anticipated upcoming release.
Whether it’s a title that one might expect to see at the IFI, or a film more at home in the multiplexes, the secret, closely guarded even from IFI staff, will be kept until the title appears onscreen. Expect the unexpected and take a chance, with tickets costing just €6.50 for IFI Members, and €7.00 for non-members.
A full list of previous screenings is available from www.ifi.ie/mystery-matinee-archive.
WILD STRAWBERRIES
CONCLAVE
EDWARD BERGER
FRI 25TH & WED 30TH (11.00)
A superb Oscar-winning thriller, adapted from Robert Harris’ book and starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci. Directed by German filmmaker Edward Berger, he achieves a studied and complex characterisation and world, as he did with his previous film, All Quiet on the Western Front. Set in the Vatican, the conclave are meeting toto elect a new pope. Machinations and rumours ensue as Cardinal Lawrence (Fiennes) endeavours to lead, while finding himself at the centre of a web of intrigue.
The screening on Wednesday 30th will be Open Captioned.
120 mins, UK-USA, 2024, Digital Notes by Alicia McGivern
PETER RABBIT
AMÉLIE
WILL GLUCK
SUN 27TH (11.00)
Wrap up school holidays with our floppy-eared friend on the big screen! Loosely inspired by Beatrix Potter’s original creation, this lively hybrid with impressive special effects aims for fun and slapstick rather than the more delicate origin story. James Corden voices the eponymous bunny, who, along with his furry pals, steals into Mr McGregor’s Garden to get some vegetables. A Mr Fisher (Domhnall Gleeson) takes over the house and garden, and sets out to get rid of the rabbits. Mayhem ensues, the furries always a few steps ahead, controversially using Mr Fisher's allergies as a means of attack in this fun and raucous Easter adventure.
Tickets: €7.00 (Individual), €23.00 (Family of 4).
JEAN-PIERRE JEUNET
MON 28TH (18.00)
The Youth Panel’s April programme choice is Amélie, a whimsical French film directed by JeanPierre Jeunet about a shy but imaginative Parisian girl, Amélie, who quietly changes the lives of those around her through a series of warm and quirky actions. With its strong visual style, fairytale-like narrative, and charming score by Yann Tiersen, the film is a contemporary French classic that explores loneliness, love and life.
Amélie’s world is full of solitude and imagination, and her way of connecting with her surroundings is inspiring and resonant for young people who are searching for their place in the world.
The IFI Youth Panel is comprised of 25 & Under cardholders who meet regularly to programme a monthly screening at the IFI. The 25 & Under card offer €5.00 tickets for young people aged 16-25. Find out more at ifi.ie/25under
95 mins, UK-Australia-USA, 2018, Digital
123 mins, France-Germany, 2001, Digital, Subtitled
Notes by Alicia McGivern
THE CORDELIA DREAM
OKSANA KARPOVYCH
MON 28TH (18.30)
Ukrainian intelligence services have intercepted thousands of phone calls Russian soldiers made from the battlefield in Ukraine to their families and friends in Russia, painting a stark picture of the cruelty of war. Juxtaposed with images of the destruction caused by the invasion and the dayto-day life of the Ukrainian people who resist and rebuild, the voices of the Russian soldiers – ranging from being filled with heroic illusions to complete disappointment and loss of reason, from looting to committing more horrible war crimes, from propaganda to doubt and disillusionment – expose the whole scope of the dehumanising power of war and imperialist nature of the Russian aggression.
Nominated for the 2025 LUX Audience Award.
See pg. 21 for other LUX Audience Award nominee screenings!
JOE O’BYRNE
TUES 29TH (18.30)
Marina Carr’s play comes to life on screen, under Joe O’Byrne’s direction, with the mysterious and tense confrontation of Woman and Man. When Woman (played by Danielle Ryan), haunted by her dream of Cordelia and King Lear, confronts Man (Stephen Brennan), their disturbed relationship is exposed. As his musical protegé, she has come seeking enlightenment, but he orders silence. Stephen Brennan humanises and renders likeable the egotistical Man while Danielle Ryan captures the powerlessness and sentimentality of the young woman.
Joe O’Byrne’s assured re-staging of Carr’s play for cinema by the Irish Repertory Theatre invites audiences to experience these two powerful performances in more intimate close-up than a theatre presentation could allow and confirms Marina Carr’s status as one of Ireland’s most acclaimed living playwrights.
The screening will be followed by a post-show discussion with Joe O’Byrne and Marina Carr hosted by Katy Hayes, Theatre Critic (Irish Independent).
93 mins, Ukraine-Canada-France, 2024, Digital, Subtitled Notes by
88 mins, Ireland, 2024, Digital Notes by
Sunniva O’Flynn
David O'Mahony
LUX AUDIENCE AWARD
SAT 5TH - SUN 27TH (11.00)
Throughout April, the IFI will screen films nominated for the LUX Audience Award. Tickets are free of charge and can be obtained in person at the IFI or by calling IFI Box Office at 01 679 3477. The LUX Audience Award is presented every year by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy, in Partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinemas. The award celebrates European cinema and its aims to raise awareness of Europe’s social, political, and cultural issues.
The screening schedule is as follows, all films screening at 11am:
Saturday 5th: Dahomey
Saturday 12th: Animal
Saturday 19th: Flow
Sunday 27th: Animal
Vote for your film of choice online at: www.luxaward-rating.europarl.europa.eu/en/
FOUR MOTHERS
DARREN THORNTON
FROM FRI 4TH
“It’s a love story, but it’s also not a love story”, says Edward (James McArdle), when asked by interviewers about his soon-to-be-published novel. The same is true of Darren Thornton’s follow-up to A Date For Mad Mary (2016), a comedy of great sweetness and charm focusing on the bond between a boy and his mother. Edward, gay and single, is attempting to juggle requests for interviews and plans for book tours with his responsibilities caring for his widowed mother Alma (Fionnula Flanagan), who is recovering from a stroke. As he agonises over these decisions, complications arise when his friends leave their mothers (Paddy Glynn, Stella McCusker, Dearbhla Molloy) on his doorstep as they jet off to foreign climes for a Pride parade. The intrusion of these eccentric women helps Edward and Alma to realise the strength of their own relationship.
The screening at 18.00 on Saturday 5th will be followed by a Q&A with co-writer/director Darren Thornton and co-writer Colin Thornton.
RESTLESS
JED HART
FROM FRI 4TH
The all-too-relatable dilemma of what to do about noisy neighbours is the engine that fuels Jed Hart’s tense, lean, blackly comic debut film that delves into themes of personal space invasion, and the lengths to which one might go to restore a semblance of normality. Nicky (Lyndsey Marshal) is a middle-aged caregiver whose tranquil life unravels when Deano (Aston McAuley) and his cadre of rambunctious friends move into the adjacent house, formerly owned by her late parents. Their rowdy behaviour and incessant late-night parties become a source of near-constant annoyance, leading to escalating confrontations that threaten violence. As sleep deprivation takes its toll, Nicky’s mental state deteriorates, pushing her toward extreme measures to reclaim her sanctuary. A deft blend of social commentary, psychological thriller, and black comedy that marks director Jed Hart out as one to watch.
The opening night screening on Friday 4th will be introduced by actor Barry Ward.
89 mins, Ireland, 2024, Digital Notes by Kevin Coyne
89 mins, UK, 2024, Digital Notes by David O’Mahony
THE MOST PRECIOUS OF CARGOES
(LA PLUS PRÉCIEUSE DES MARCHANDISES)
HOLY COW
(VINGT DIEUX)
LOUISE COURVOISIER
FROM FRI 4TH
CINEMAS: FROM FRI 11TH IFI@HOME: COMING THIS SUMMER! During World War II, a French Jewish family is deported to Auschwitz. On the train to the concentration camp, the father, desperate for any chance to save her life, throws one of his twins out into the snow, where she’s discovered by a childless Polish couple, known only as the Woodcutter and the Woodcutter’s Wife. Seeing the baby as a divine gift, the wife decides to raise her, despite her husband's initial resistance and the pervasive antisemitism of the time. A departure for director Michel Hazanavicius, who is best known for the Oscar-winning The Artist (2011) and the amiable zombie-movie pastiche Final Cut (2022), The Most Precious of Cargoes is a heartfelt, moving and, at least stylistically, a proudly old-fashioned animated adaptation of Jean-Claude Grumberg’s 2019 book.
Are you an IFI Friend? Join us for our next IFI Cinema Club discussion after the screening at 18.30 on Tuesday, April 8th on the IFI Mezzanine!
There will be Open Captioned screenings at 18.30 on Monday 7th, and at 13.00 on Thursday 10th.
18-year-old Totone (Clement Faveau) lives in the Jura region in south-east France, an area renowned for its dairy cows, agricultural festivals, and awardwinning Comté cheese. Totone just wants to have fun with his friends, get drunk, and chase girls, but when his father has a terrible accident, he is forced to grow up quickly, and support himself and his 7-year-old sister. When a competition to make the best Comté cheese in the region is announced, Totone sees an opportunity to win a cash prize and take control of his chaotic life. Holy Cow, the debut feature film from Louise Courvoisier, captures the emotional highs and lows of its redoubtable young protagonist with great empathy and humour, aided in no small part by the effortless charm of nonprofessional actor Clement Faveau, who acquits himself like a natural.
Tickets for the 18.30 screening on Wednesday 16th will be €10.40 for IFI & Alliance Française members.
81 mins, France-Belgium, 2024, Digital, Subtitled Notes
92 mins, France, 2024, Digital, Subtitled Notes by David O’Mahony
by David O’Mahony
MICHEL HAZANAVICIUS
ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO
THE RETURN
KEVIN MACDONALD & SAM RICE-EDWARDS UBERTO PASOLINI
FROM FRI 11TH
One to One: John & Yoko focuses on an 18-month period when John Lennon and Yoko Ono fled a life of luxury in the UK for a relatively humble two-room apartment in New York’s West Village, becoming immediate figureheads for the counterculture and anti-Vietnam War movements, and the go-to couple for almost any activist group needing some celebrity support. At the core of the documentary is the One to One charity concert for special needs children, Lennon’s only full-length performance between the Beatles’ final concert in 1966 and his death. Macdonald and Rice-Edwards’s film is a beautifully edited tapestry of archival material, newsreel, recorded phone calls, tv commercials, and other such cultural flotsam and jetsam that cumulatively captures the tenure of a fraught period in New York City’s political and social history.
There will be Open Caption screenings at 13.00 Friday 11th, and 20.40 on Wednesday 16th.
FROM FRI 11TH
After 20 years away, Odysseus (Ralph Fiennes) washes up on the shores of Ithaca, where he discovers that much has changed in his kingdom since he left to fight in the Trojan War. His beloved wife Penelope (Juliette Binoche) is now a prisoner in her own home, hounded by her many ambitious suitors to choose a new husband, a new king. Their son Telemachus, who has grown up fatherless, is facing death at the hands of the suitors who see him as an obstacle in their relentless pursuit of Penelope and the kingdom. Scarred by his experience of war, Odysseus is no longer the mighty warrior his people remember. But he is forced to face his past to rediscover the strength needed to save his family and win back the love he has lost.
There will be Open Captioned screenings at 20.40 on Monday 14th, and 13.20 on Tuesday 15th.
100 mins, UK, 2024, Digital Notes by David O’Mahony
116 mins, Italy-Greece-UK-France, 2024, Digital Notes by David O’Mahony
SINS OF IRELAND THE PENGUIN LESSONS
ALEX FEGAN
FROM FRI 18TH
Sins of Ireland, directed by Alex Fegan (Older Than Ireland, The Irish Pub), is a portrait of Ireland through the lens of the confession box. Fifteen Irish priests, who have long heard the sins of others, offer their own confessional on the rise and fall of a sacrament that now epitomises the turbulent changes in faith and spirituality in contemporary Ireland.
The documentary is a nuanced and uncynical examination of confession, as priests themselves acknowledge how a rite meant to offer absolution and guidance had for many years become a tool of control and shame, with devastating consequences. Yet, Sins of Ireland also explores forgiveness - not as an easy resolution, but as a necessary reckoning with the past and a gateway to spiritual redemption. In confronting their own failings and the sins of the church, these priests lay bare the complexities of remorse, accountability, and the possibility of reconciliation.
The opening night screening on Friday 18th will be followed by a Q&A with Alex Fegan and Fr Chris O’Donnell, hosted by Patsy McGarry (Irish Times)
PETER CATTANEO
FROM FRI 18TH
Argentina, 1976; disillusioned English schoolteacher Tom Michell (Steve Coogan) arrives at St George’s College, a prestigious all-boys private school on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. It is a politically tumultuous era, with violence exploding on the streets; determinedly unruffled by the deteriorating situation, the school headmaster (Jonathan Pryce) insists upon maintaining an aura of calm and civility. During a weekend trip to Uruguay, Tom comes across a penguin on a beach, trapped in oil from a spill. Against his better judgement, Tom rescues the bird, whom he has named it Juan Salvador, nurses it back to health, and sneaks it back to Argentina where the penguin becomes an integral part of the school community and a novel prop in his teaching of English poetry to his newly enthusiastic young charges.
mins, Ireland, 2025,
mins, Spain-USA-UK,
83
Digital Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn
110
2024, Digital Notes by David O‘Mahony
FRÉWAKA
JULIE KEEPS QUIET
(JULIE ZWIJGT)
AISLINN CLARKE
LEONARDO VAN DIJL
FROM FRI 25TH FROM FRI 25TH
Haunted by a personal tragedy, home care worker Shoo (Clare Monnelly) leaves her pregnant girlfriend to care for Peig (Bríd Ní Neachtain), a cantankerous old woman who has incarcerated herself in a big house on the edge of a remote village. Peig fears the neighbours as much as she fears na sídhe, sinister entities who she believes abducted her on her wedding night decades before. As the two develop a deep connection, Shoo is infected by the old woman’s paranoia, rituals, and superstitions, eventually confronting the horrors of her own past.
Aislinn Clarke’s haunting folk horror is deftly woven through with contemporary concerns about mental health, inherited trauma, and the fraught realm of motherhood, as they impact upon the two fully-realised characters – brought to life with understated brilliance by Monnelly and Ní Neachtain.
The screening at 18.20 on Wednesday 23rd will be followed by Q&A with Clare Monnelly, Bríd Ní Neachtain, and director Aislinn Clarke.
Julie (Tessa Van den Broeck) is a highly promising 15-year-old tennis player whose life revolves around the sport she has been devoted to since childhood. Julie’s regimented life at the tennis academy is brutally interrupted by the shocking news of a fellow young player’s suicide, followed by the suspension of her coach, whose has been accused of inappropriate behaviour and is the subject of a police investigation. The incident motivates other girls to come forward and share their stories but Julie choose to remain silent. Despite mounting pressure on her to discuss her relationship with her beloved mentor, the introverted teen keeps her focus on her game. Sensitive, moving, and meticulously crafted, Julie Keeps Quiet tackles pertinent questions about the silence of women confronting a calculating abuser.
Nominated for the 2025 LUX Audience Award.
See pg. 21 for other LUX Audience Award nominee screenings!
103 mins, Ireland, 2024, Digital, Subtitled Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn
100 mins, Belgium-Sweden, 2024, Digital, Subtitled
Notes by David O’Mahony
THE LOUIS MARCUS COLLECTION
AVAILABLE NOW FREE WORLDWIDE ON WWW.IFIARCHIVEPLAYER.IE
Cork-born Louis Marcus began his film career in Dublin in 1958 as assistant editor on Mise Éire and Saoirse?, and made his own first film The Silent Art in 1959 about the sculptor, Seamus Murphy RHA. From 1960 to 1973 he made short cinema documentaries for Gael Linn and went on to work for television and corporate patrons. His subjects have included social life, Irish traditions, history, and the arts.
I'M STILL HERE
(AINDA ESTOU AQUI)
AVAILABLE FROM MON 21ST PREORDER FROM TUE 1ST WALTER SALLES
Walter Salles, the Oscar-winning director of Central Station and The Motorcycle Diaries, returns with his finest work in many years. I’m Still Here focuses on the true-life story of Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres), whose terrifying experience under Brazil’s military dictatorship of the 1970s transformed her into a renowned activist for human rights. Based on the memoir of her son, Marcelo Rubéns Paiva, Salles’s engrossing film depicts the Paiva household in Rio de Janeiro as warm and jovial, that is until patriarch Rubéns (Selton Mello), a former congressman, is taken away for questioning.
He has made in all over 80 documentaries winning 20 international festival awards, including the Silver Bear of the Berlin Film Festival for Fleá Ceoil, prizes at Moscow, London, Chicago and Oberhausen, and two Academy Award Nominations for Páistí ag Obair and Conquest of Light.
Supported by Axonista, Culture Ireland, and Gael Linn.
136 mins, Brazil-France, 2024, Digital, Subtitled Notes by David O’Mahony
Investigators soon come for Eunice, holding her for twelve days in a windowless prison as they try to force her to incriminate her friends. A powerfully moving story of resilience in the face of oppression, I’m Still Here is a masterful return for one of Brazil’s finest filmmakers.
Winner of the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.
