THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME
WES ANDERSON
MAY AT THE IFI
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POINTS
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CONTENTS
IFI SEASONS PAGE 4
IFI SPECIAL EVENTS PAGE 9
IFI NEW RELEASES, DOCS & CLASSICS PAGE 19 IFI@HOME PAGE 27
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
Child and Family ticket prices are available for titles with G, PG, 12A and 15A IFCO classification. These prices are separate to the special prices available for IFI Family screenings.
Open Captioned - see pg. 3 for programmed screenings.
Audio Described screenings available on selected titles, ask at Box Office for details.
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.
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Eligible for 25 & Under card pricing, offering €5.00 to people aged 16-25 (excludes free-list suspended events such as festivals/70mm). Full details at ifi.ie/25under.
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.
FRI 2ND
KEY DATES AT A GLANCE C
THE GRACELESS AGE: THE BALLAD OF JOHN MURRY + Q&A 18.20
OPENING IN CINEMAS: AMONGST THE WOLVES & OPENING IN CINEMAS: PARTHENOPE C
OPENING IN CINEMAS: THE GRACELESS AGE: THE BALLAD OF JOHN C
SAT 3RD
IFI, BEALTAINE & AEMI: FILM PORTRAITS BY CHRISTIANA PERSCHON
DAVID LEAN: THE SOUND BARRIER
SUN 4TH
FROM THE VAULTS: CINEGAEL PARADISO
12.00
15.45
13.30
DAVID LEAN: HOBSON’S CHOICE C 16.00 MON 5TH
OC SCREENING: PARTHENOPE
WED 7TH
20.20
OC SCREENING: PARTHENOPE C 13.00
DAVID LEAN: SUMMERTIME
BJÖRK: CORNUCOPIA
THUR 8TH
OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH
18.20
20.30
18.15 TALL TALES
FRI 9TH
OPENING IN CINEMAS: MOTEL DESTINO C OPENING IN CINEMAS: RIEFENSTAHL & OPENING IN CINEMAS: THE WEDDING BANQUET C
SAT 10TH
OC SCREENING: THE WEDDING BANQUET C 13.00
DAVID LEAN: THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI C 15.15 SUN 11TH
OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH C 15.30 WITHOUT GETTING KILLED OR CAUGHT + Q&A
16.00 TUES 13TH
EAFFI DISCOVERIES: GREEN WAVE C 18.20
IFI CINEMA CLUB: THE WEDDING BANQUET + POST-SCREENING DISCUSSION
WED 14TH
OC SCREENING: THE WEDDING BANQUET
IRISH FOCUS: IRELAND AND ITS AROMATIC HERITAGE
FRI 16TH
OPENING IN CINEMAS: E.1027: EILEEN GRAY AND THE HOUSE BY THE SEA
SAT 17TH DAVID
18.20
JUNE
IFI SEASONS PRESENTS
DAVID LEAN: PART 2
The second half of David Lean’s career, as explored in this month’s programme, saw great changes. Although the films in his middle period are perhaps not as feted in recent times as the Coward or Dickens adaptations with which he made his name, or the epics with which he became synonymous, they are ripe for rediscovery as the films that presaged his move to international filmmaking in the mid-1950s, and the beginning of a new phase. Even as Lean achieved a stature that afforded him the freedom to luxuriate in the extended running times of his epics (the downside of which was a vastly slower rate of output), he remained the consummate filmmaker who proved as adept with filming in the desert or jungle as he had been filming in English tearooms. We are pleased that all but one film will be presented on celluloid. Season notes by Kevin Coyne.
An extremely rare screening of Lost and Found: The Story of Cook’s Anchor, a documentary directed by Lean for New Zealand television, will take place at 18.30 on Wednesday, May 21st. Please see ifi.ie for further details.
See pg. 17 - IFI Family: Great Expectations on 35mm!
Lawrence of Arabia
THE SOUND BARRIER
HOBSON’S CHOICE
SAT 3RD (15.45)
Written by renowned playwright Sir Terence Rattigan, this is Lean’s fictional, meticulously researched depiction of British aerospace engineers and test pilots working to achieve the first supersonic flight (conveniently overlooking the fact that the feat was actually achieved in the USA, in 1947 by Chuck Yeager, as depicted in Philip Kaufman’s 1983 epic The Right Stuff ). Sir John Ridgefield (Ralph Richardson) owns the aircraft company involved, his single-minded pursuit of his goal has a human cost, and he risks losing everything. Filled with stunning aerial photography, this is a well-drawn and nuanced portrait of the human impulse for progress.
SUN 4TH (16.00)
In Lean’s first overtly comic film since Blithe Spirit nearly a decade before, Charles Laughton stars as Henry Horatio Hobson, a miserly Victorian bootmaker whose three daughters wish to marry. Hobson consents to the younger women’s matches, but opposes the very idea of eldest daughter Maggie (Brenda de Banzie) leaving him. Infuriated and determined, she marries anyway, and opens a new, rival business with her timid husband (John Mills) at its head. Charming and funny, featuring committed performances (Laughton and de Banzie in particular excel), the film was not just a box office success, but winner of Berlin’s Golden Bear.
118 mins, UK, 1952, 35mm, Black & White
108 mins, UK, 1954, 35mm, Black & White
THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
WED 7TH (18.20)
David Lean’s collaboration with Katharine Hepburn would be described by the great director in later years as his favourite. Hepburn plays Jane Hudson, a secretary from middleAmerica fulfilling her lifelong dream of visiting Venice. With her loneliness accentuated in the presence of so much romance, Jane is susceptible to the advances of local antiquarian Renato (Rossano Brazzi), but a shadow is cast over the relationship by the discovery that she is merely his paramour. Shot entirely on location, this romantic comedy drama marked the beginning of Lean’s move to international filmmaking, and the end of his smaller, more personal work.
SAT 10TH (15.15)
Lean subsequently became less prolific, the time between films increasing as a result of the epic scale on which he began to work. The Bridge On The River Kwai, winner of seven well-deserved Oscars, including Lean’s first for direction, had a suitably huge budget, and production took nearly a year. Alec Guinness, who argued throughout with Lean over their differing views of the character, is Colonel Nicholson, leader of a contingent of British prisoners of war. Forced to construct the titular bridge by their captors, an increasingly deluded Nicholson comes to see the project as a monument to British superiority.
161 mins, UK-USA, 1957, 35mm
100 mins, UK-USA, 1955, 35mm
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO
SAT 17TH (16.10) & MON 19TH (18.30)
It would be five years before Lean returned to the screen with the film that has come to define him. Indeed, this biopic of T.E. Lawrence, the British Army officer who played a significant role in the Arab Revolt during WWI, still sets the standard for epics. Screening on 70mm, it recounts Lawrence’s (Peter O’Toole) progression from adviser to Prince Feisal (Alec Guinness) to active, participating advocate for the cause. With a supporting cast including Omar Sharif and Claude Rains, and indelible, breathtaking cinematography, the film won Lean his second Oscar and remains the quintessential big screen experience.
SUN 18TH (16.30)
Lean wanted to follow the action and adventure of Lawrence with something more intimate and romantic; the result was another epic, one that still holds a position in the top ten highest-grossing films ever made. Set in Russia (for which location shooting in Spain implausibly doubled) during WWI and the years following the 1917 Revolution, it is a beautifully mounted film that follows the intertwining lives of Zhivago (Omar Sharif) and Lara (Julie Christie, luminous). The two meet at a field hospital and, though each already married, fall in love. Despite returning home to their spouses, their story has not ended.
RYAN’S DAUGHTER
A PASSAGE TO INDIA
SAT 24TH (16.15)
The film that all but ended Lean’s career, Ryan’s Daughter, filmed mostly on Kerry’s Dingle Peninsula, is set in the aftermath of the 1916 Easter Rising. Rosy (Sarah Miles) lives a life of quiet boredom with husband Charles (Robert Mitchum). Major Doryan (Christopher Jones) arrives to take control of the local garrison, having returned from the front with PTSD. The two begin an affair, which is discovered first by Charles, then by the larger community, making a pariah of her and endangering her life. The film’s unfairly harsh reception was taken extremely personally by Lean, leading to his extended hiatus.
The 70mm print of Ryan’s Daughter was sourced from the Swedish Film Institute, and consequently will screen with Swedish subtitles. No other 70mm prints were available for this screening.
SAT 31ST (15.15)
Devastated by the reception afforded Ryan’s Daughter, and a notorious lunch with the American National Society of Film Critics where the film was lacerated at length to his face, Lean retreated, finally emerging to pursue a decades-old passion project in this E.M. Forster adaptation. Set in 1920s colonial India, the film explores the cultural and personal differences between the British expats and the local people. With a cast featuring faces familiar from Lean’s long, illustrious career, his final work is a masterful piece of filmmaking, its epic scale and striking visuals a potent reminder of and suitable farewell to a unique talent.
IFI SPECIAL EVENTS MAY 2025
The Bigger Picture: All About My Mother
FILM PORTRAITS BY CHRISTIANA PERSCHON
SAT 3RD (12.00)
Bealtaine Festival in partnership with IFI and aemi will present a selection of films from artist Christiana Perschon’s ongoing portrait series produced in creative collaboration with an older generation of women artists. Born and based in Austria, Perschon works predominantly with analogue film, using the restrictions of the medium as a guide in key decisions around form and structure. Christiana Perschon is a filmmaker and visual artist based in Vienna.
PROGRAMME INFO:
Noema. 31 mins, Austria, 2014, Digital Sekundanerbeiten. 12 mins, Austria, 2021, Digital Bildwerden. 10 mins, Austria, 2022, Digital Friedl. 3 mins, Austria, 2023, Digital
When I draw myself, I exist threefold. 12 mins, Austria, 2023, Digital
Christiana Perschon will be in attendance and will host a Q&A with visual artist Gerda Teljeur after the screening.
Programme duration: approx. 68 mins
BOB QUINN: COUNT HIM OUT
Join us for FREE lunchtime screenings of films from the IFI Irish Film Archive every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Simply collect your tickets online (with a small booking fee) or at IFI Box Office.
PROGRAMME ONE
CLOCH
Inspired by Cliodhna Cussen, Cloch is an evocation of the art of stone-carving, drawing on the work of James McKenna and on the Kilkenny sculpture workshop of 1975.
Bob Quinn said about the project, “The main aspect that interested me was the physical relationship between a person and inanimate material.”
Dir. Bob Quinn. 30 mins, Ireland, 1975, Digital
PROGRAMME TWO
SELF PORTRAIT WITH RED CAR
Collaborating with Joe Comerford (camera) and Roger Doyle (music), the film finds painter Brian Bourke caught in an absurd acoustic situation in Connemara. Bob Quinn explores how sound controls our visual perception – “take one picture and put 100 different sounds behind it, the picture will assume 100 different meanings.”
Dir. Bob Quinn. 20 mins, Ireland, 1976, Digital
by Sunniva O’Flynn
Notes
Self Portrait with Red Car
CINEGAEL PARADISO
ROBERT QUINN
SUN 4TH (13.30)
An affectionate tribute from a son to his father, Robert Quinn’s documentary offers fascinating and often amusing insights into the life of Bob Quinn, arguably Ireland’s most determinedly independent and intriguing film director. Robert recalls with fondness his eccentric childhood in the Connemara Gaeltacht, growing up within CINEGAEL, the independent cinema and hub of film-making activity set up by Bob in the 1970s. The film focuses on the contribution CINEGAEL made to the cultural life of the community, but also to the Irish film industry itself, acting as a home for, and catalyst to, radical ideas and attitudes within the film industry at the time.
Screening to mark the publication of Count Me Out: Selected Writings of Filmmaker Bob Quinn, a new collection of essays and articles – available in the IFI Film Shop, with a specially discounted price for the screening.
The screening will be introduced by Robert and Toner Quinn. SPECIAL EVENT
53 mins, Ireland, 2004, Digital Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn
BJÖRK: CORNUCOPIA
ÍSOLD UGGADÓTTIR
WED 7TH (20.30)
Björk: Cornucopia is a documentary concert film by legendary Icelandic artist Björk, capturing her 2023 performance at Lisbon's Altice Arena during the four-year long Cornucopia tour. Directed by Ísold Uggadóttir, the film integrates live footage with immersive visuals, and features songs from Björk's albums Fossora (2022), Utopia (2017), and Vulnicura (2015), presented through elaborate stage designs and multimedia elements. Subtitles for all lyrics appear on screen throughout, in Björk’s own handwriting. Björk, a Grammy award-winning Icelandic musician, composer, and producer, has had a profound impact on music, art, and culture over her career. She is known for her unique voice and groundbreaking sound, often combining electronic beats with orchestral arrangements, creating complex, emotional, and futuristic music.
Free-list suspended
99 mins, Iceland-USA, 2024, Digital, Subtitled
OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH TALL TALES
TOBY NOWLAN, COLIN BUTFIELD, KEITH SCHOLEY
THUR 8TH (18.15) & SUN 11TH (15.30)
Ocean with David Attenborough takes viewers on a breathtaking journey showing there is nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder, or surprise, than the ocean.
The celebrated broadcaster and filmmaker reveals how his lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Through spectacular sequences featuring coral reefs, kelp forests, and the open ocean, Attenborough shares why a healthy ocean keeps the entire planet stable and flourishing.
Stunning, immersive cinematography showcases the wonder of life under the seas and exposes the realities and challenges facing our ocean as never-before-seen, from destructive fishing techniques to mass coral reef bleaching. Yet the story is one of optimism, with Attenborough pointing to inspirational stories from around the world to deliver his greatest message: the ocean can recover to a glory beyond anything anyone alive has ever seen.
JONATHAN ZAWADA
THUR 8TH (20.30)
Electronic music producer Mark Pritchard, songwriter Thom Yorke and groundbreaking visual artist Jonathan Zawada present Tall Tales, a collaborative visual, and audio cinema experience a decade in the making. Screening in advance of the release of their titular album, Tall Tales shows the seasoned musicians continue down a path of experimentation, juxtaposed with uneasy landscapes of natural beauty and the brutal aesthetics of a dystopian world. Through Yorke’s lyrics, Pritchard’s atemporal compositions and Zawada’s visuals, Tall Tales questions where our insatiable appetite for ‘progress’ might have landed us. A prophetic visual album, Tall Tales has been years in the making, but delivered right on time.
Free-list suspended
105 mins, UK, 2025, Digital
Free-list suspended
65 mins, UK, 2025, Digital
WITHOUT GETTING KILLED OR CAUGHT
TAMARA SAVIANO & PAUL WHITFIELD
SUN 11TH (16.00)
Narrated by Sissy Spacek, this documentary from Paul Whitfield and multiple Grammy-nominee Tamara Saviano, a figure of note for her many activities across the Americana and folk scene over a number of decades, focuses on the careers and relationships of Guy Clark, his wife Susanna, and their friend and collaborator Townes Van Zandt. Told from Susanna’s perspective, using material from her diaries, and featuring interviews with the likes of Steve Earle and Vince Gill, this is a poignant, respectful depiction of the rise and fall of three people inextricably bound to each other through love and art.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Tamara Saviano, hosted by broadcaster Ronnie Norton and featuring live music from Freddie White.
GREEN WAVE
LEI
TUES 13TH (18.20)
Wei Fei (Chuanjun Wang), a struggling screenwriter living in Beijing, finds himself left behind in the fast-paced world of the film industry. Yet the promise of success might finally be within reach when his long-stalled script is finally set for release, re-imagined as a ‘Chinese Mecha Sci-fi epic’. At the same time, unannounced, his father Lao Wei (Chaoying Xu) arrives from their rural hometown with a rare bowl possibly from the Song Dynasty: could fortune and fame finally be within reach? Heart-felt and universal, Lei Xu’s second feature Green Wave is a subtle, often hilarious Chinese family comedy-drama that captures the emotional complexity of a father-son reunion with sharpwitted social commentary.
Winner of the Jury Prize and Best Actor, at Pingyao Crouching Tigers Hidden Dragons IFF 2024; In competition and Opening film for Udine Far East FF 2025; Hong Kong IFF Firebird Competition 2025.
Free-list suspended
95
USA,
mins,
2021, Digital Notes by Kevin Coyne
111 mins, China, 2024, Digital, Subtitled Notes by Marie-Pierre Richard, EAFFI Discoveries
XU (QIAN CHENG SI JIN)
IRISH FOCUS
IRELAND AND ITS AROMATIC HERITAGE
GAYIL NALLS
WED 14TH (18.30)
Filmed on location in Co Kerry, Ireland and Its Aromatic Heritage explores Ireland’s rich olfactory heritage and the cultural, ecological, and emotional significance of aromatic plants in Irish life. Directed by interdisciplinary artist Gayil Nalls, and narrated by writer/broadcaster Manchán Magan the film weaves together imagery, storytelling, contributions from an array of experts, and music from Kíla and Fionnuar, inviting audiences to reimagine the olfactory landscapes of Ireland and to consider the urgent need to preserve its boglands and traditional ecological knowledge for future generations.
The event will include a unique olfactory experience of World Sensorium, a living sculpture of world heritage scents created by Gayil Nalls; a panel discussion with Nalls and Magan hosted by Lizbeth Goodman (Director of SMARTlab, UCD); and a musical turn from Colm and Rónán Ó Snodaigh of Kíla.
65
& OUTHOUSE
THE 34TH
LINDA CULLEN, VANESSA GILDEA
SUN 18TH (15.00)
Joining with Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the historic marriage equality referendum with a screening of this powerful film which follows the founders and members of the Marriage Equality campaign from Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan’s pivotal KAL case to the grassroots movement that led to the YES vote on May 22nd, 2015. Featuring revealing interviews and archival footage, it captures the passion, strategy, and personal sacrifices behind this transformative moment.
The screening will be introduced by Linda Cullen and Vanessa Gildea, and followed by a Q&A with Oisín O'Reilly, CEO of Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre, Moninne Griffith, CEO of Belong To – LGBTQ+ Youth Ireland, and Mamobo Ogoro, CEO of GORM.
Join us to celebrate, reflect, and continue the conversation!
94
mins, Ireland, 2015, Digital Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn
mins, Ireland, 2025, Digital Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn
MYSTERY MATINEE
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
MYSTERY MATINEE
DAVID LEAN
SUN 25TH (11.00)
A special showing for family audiences of the classic Dickens adaptation, presented with the IFI David Lean season. This black and white film grasps the depth and richness of Dicken's characters in the story of Pip who is given the chance to improve his lot, through the benevolence of a mystery gentleman. Memorable characters such as Miss Havisham, Estella, and Herbert Pocket come truly alive with Lean’s direction, while Pip, played by John Mills, convinces as the naïve and curious boy navigating his way through some terrifying encounters, such as Magwitch in the graveyard. Atmospheric and memorable, the writer’s Victorian Kent and London have rarely been so well imagined. This screening will be shown on 35mm.
Tickets for IFI Family screenings are €7.00 (Individual), and €23.00 (Family of 4).
SUN 25TH (13.00)
??? Join us for this month’s screening at 13.00 on Sunday, May 25th. 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.
118 mins, UK, 1946, 35mm, Black & White Notes by Alicia McGivern
WILD STRAWBERRIES PROGRAMMING GROUP IFI YOUTH PANEL
CINEMA PARADISO
(NUOVO CINEMA PARADISO)
GIUSEPPE TORNATORE
IFI YOUTH PANEL: MON 26TH (18.00)
Drawing the IFI Youth Panel screenings to a close before a summer break, you’re invited to Giuseppe Tornatore’s love letter to cinema, Cinema Paradiso - a story of a filmmaker’s childhood as he falls in love with the art of cinema. Forming a deep connection with the village projectionist, the lasting power of these foundational memories reverberate throughout his adult life.
A film chosen by both IFI Youth Panel and Wild Strawberries’ Bealtaine programming groups, cinema memories from both audiences will be shared at screenings in May.
The IFI Youth Panel is formed from 25 & Under cardholders who programme a monthly screening at the IFI.
124 mins, France-Italy, 1988, Digital, Subtitled
WILD STRAWBERRIES: WED 28TH (11.00)
IFI Wild Strawberries Programming Group, in association with access>CINEMA, have selected this gorgeous, nostalgic title for the film tour taking place during Bealtaine 2025. Selected also as their May screening by IFI Youth Panel, the two programming groups will join forces to present the film, alongside a showcase of some cinema-going memories from audience members, to celebrate the love of cinema as depicted in Tornatore’s classic.
Wild Strawberries is our monthly film club for the over 55s. Tickets are just €5.50 for IFI Members and €6.00 for non-members, and include a free tea or coffee!
If you would like to share a memory of cinema, come and chat to the IFI Youth Panel members after April’s Wild Strawberries screenings on Friday 25th and Wednesday 30th!
124 mins, France-Italy, 1988, Digital, Subtitled
WILD STRAWBERRIES
ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER
PEDRO ALMODÓVAR
WED 28TH (18.20)
When single mother Manuela (Cecilia Roth) loses her teenage son, she embarks on a journey to Barcelona to find the boy’s transgender father, Lola. Along the way, she reconnects with old friends and meets new ones, including Agrado, a warm and humorous transgender woman, Rosa (Penélope Cruz), a young nun who is pregnant and facing her own struggles, and an actress her son admired. A deserving winner of both the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film as well as Best Director at Cannes, All About My Mother was the moment when Almodóvar crossed over and achieved international recognition; blending the high camp of his earlier work with a newfound maturity and empathy for his colourful characters, Almodóvar achieves a wonderful balance of tone, delivering a melodrama with rare emotional depth.
The screening will be introduced by Emmett Scanlon, Director, Irish Architecture Foundation.
101 mins, Spain, 1999, Digital, Subtitled
MOTHERS
FRI 30TH (11.00)
Inspired by Italian filmmaker Gianni di Gregorio’s Mid – August Lunch, this Dublin-set drama is from Drogheda brothers Darren and Colin Thornton. Fionnula Flanagan is wonderfully cast as writer Edward’s mother, who is recovering from a stroke which robbed her of speech. Edward is gay, and finds himself looking after her and three other eccentric women, all mothers cast adrift for the weekend by their offspring. Funny and charming, it is also making clear points about caring for older parents and the challenges this can bring.
Wild Strawberries is our monthly film club for the over 55s. Tickets are just €5.50 for IFI Members and €6.00 for non-members, and include a free tea or coffee!
89 mins, Ireland, 2024, Digital Notes by Alicia McGivern
DARREN THORNTON
(TODO SOBRE MI MADRE)
IFI NEW RELEASES DOCS & CLASSICS
Along Came Love
AMONGST THE WOLVES
PARTHENOPE
CINEMA: FROM FRI 2ND
IFI@HOME: FROM MON, JUNE 2ND
On the streets of Dublin, Danny (Luke McQuillan), a homeless man, tries to maintain contact with his young son despite opposition from the child’s mother (Jade Jordan), who has not forgiven Danny for an accident, caused though his negligence. Haunted by memories of horrors he witnessed while serving in the army in Afghanistan, Danny struggles to survive alone until he meets Will (Daniel Fee), a teenage drug dealer on the run from gang leader (Aidan Gillen) and hiding out in a tent by the canal. Danny takes Will under his wing and a strong bond forms.
Director Mark O’Connor (King of the Travellers) presents his most assured work to date. Co-authored with Luke McQuillan, this taut psychological drama is filled with complex, vulnerable characters trying desperately to avoid their inevitable fate.
FROM FRI 2ND
Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty) returns to Naples, the city of his birth, for this languorous, swooningly romantic chronicle of the eponymous Parthenope (Celeste Dalla Porta in her feature debut), born in 1950 and named after a siren in Homer’s Odyssey whose death is associated with the foundation of the Greek city that preceded modern-day Naples. With his signature visual élan, Sorrentino traces his heroine’s quixotic life from idyllic childhood to the present day, introducing us to a delightful rogue’s gallery of colourful grotesques along the way, including a memorable interlude on the island of Capri with a melancholic American writer (Gary Oldman). Parthenope’s early academic prowess is undermined by a life-long search for spiritual happiness; she must navigate complex relationships with the various men in her life, including an intense, troubling bond with her brother Raimondo (Daniele Rienzo).
There will be Open Captioned screenings at 20.20 on Monday 5th, and 13.00 on Wednesday 7th.
137 mins, Italy-France, 2024, Digital, Subtitled Notes by David O’Mahony
PAOLO SORRENTINO
104 mins, Ireland, 2024, Digital Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn
MARK O’CONNOR
THE GRACELESS AGE: THE BALLAD OF JOHN MURRY
MOTEL DESTINO
FROM FRI 2ND
John Murry was on the cusp of greatness with his highly acclaimed album The Graceless Age (2013) when, addicted to heroin and creatively exhausted, he washed up on Irish shores a broken man. Now, he is ready to retrace his steps back into the dark heart of American life to face his difficult childhood, traumatic assault, and resulting years of opioid addiction. He also explores his family links to the Nobel Prize winning author William Faulkner about whom his adopted grandmother Mimi would say, if anyone was imbued with the spirit of Bill Faulkner, it was John.
Director Sarah Share (If I Should Fall From Grace) follows John’s journey from near-death to redemption and a new zest for life and art through his outstanding music. Winner of the Best feature documentary at IFI Documentary Festival 2023.
The opening night screening on Friday 2nd at 18.20 will be followed by a Q&A with Sarah Share.
FROM FRI 9TH
On the run from the police and the gang he let down following a botched robbery, twenty-one-year-old Heraldo (Iago Xavier) seeks refuge at the Motel Destino, a neon-lit roadside sex hotel on Brazil’s north-eastern coast in Karim Aïnouz’s gripping erotic thriller. The establishment is managed by the rough-edged Elias (Fábio Assunção) and his discontented younger wife, Dayana (Nataly Rocha). Frustrated with her violent husband, Dayana becomes enamoured with Heraldo; it’s not a case of whether they will give in to their carnal urges but when, and what will happen if the unpredictable Elias finds out. Together, they devise a high stakes plan for freedom. With more than one nod to The Postman Always Rings Twice, Motel Destino is an intoxicating contemporary noir with smouldering performances and a suitably lurid aesthetic.
90 mins, Ireland-Canada-USA, 2023, Digital Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn
SARAH SHARE
115 mins, Brazil-France-Germany, 2024, Digital, Subtitled Notes by David O’Mahony
KARIM AÏNOUZ
RIEFENSTAHL THE WEDDING BANQUET
CINEMA: FROM FRI 9TH
IFI@HOME: FROM MON, JUNE 9TH
German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl has always been a divisive and ambiguous figure. Although she has been lauded as a filmmaker of note whose technical prowess and grasp of the medium pointed to a singular talent, it was these same abilities that caught Hitler’s eye. At his behest, she made the documentaries Olympia (1938), about the 1936 Olympic Games, and, most notoriously, Triumph Of The Will, a chronicle of the 1934 Nazi Party Conference in Nuremberg. Regardless of her talent, these were out-and-out Nazi propaganda films, and Riefenstahl spent the remainder of her life until her death in 2003 tainted by association, despite her repeated pleas of ignorance and innocence. Andres Veiel’s extraordinary and extraordinarily clear-eyed documentary acknowledges all sides of Riefenstahl’s life and talent, bolstered by unfettered access to her personal archives, and allows audiences to draw their own conclusions.
FROM FRI 9TH
Frustrated with his commitment-phobic boyfriend, Chris (Bowen Yang), and facing pressure to marry from his wealthy family (to whom he hasn’t yet come out), Min (Han Gi-chan), a queer Korean man living in the US, proposes a marriage of convenience to his friend Angela (Kelly Marie Tran), offering to fund her partner Lee's (Lily Gladstone) IVF treatments in exchange for a green card. Their plan becomes even more complicated when Min's grandmother (Youn Yuh-jung) makes a surprise visit from Seoul and insists on organising an extravagant Korean wedding banquet. Andrew Ahn’s reimagining of Ang Lee’s 1993 film retains James Schamus, co-writer and co-producer of the original, resulting in a contemporary work that stays true to the earlier film’s vision of compassion and inclusiveness.
Are you an IFI Friend? Join us for our next IFI Cinema Club discussion after the screening at 18:30 on Tuesday 13th.
There will be Open Captioned screenings at 13.00 on Saturday 10th, and 18.20 on Wednesday 14th.
115 mins, Germany, 2024, Digital, Subtitled Notes by Kevin Coyne
102 mins, USA, 2025, Digital Notes by David O’Mahony
ANDRES VEIEL
ANDREW AHN
E.1027: EILEEN GRAY AND
THE HOUSE BY THE SEA
BEATRICE MINGER & CHRISTOPH SCHAUB
CINEMA: FROM FRI 16TH IFI@HOME: FROM MON, JUNE 30TH
A love triangle in the Parisian art scene of the 1930s is brought to life in this stylish docufiction about iconic Irish artist and architect Eileen Gray, who built her modernist dream house on the Riviera, only to be upstaged by Le Corbusier. Gray created some of the most iconic furniture of the 20th century, and when she focussed her unique artistic vision on developing a house, named E.1027, for herself and her lover, Romanian architect Jean Badovici, on the Riviera in 1929, the result was a modernist triumph. But when the Swiss-French star architect Le Corbusier learns of the house, he became obsessed and increasingly jealous of Gray’s achievement. The film reconstructs the dramatic story of Gray and the house that Le Corbusier amazingly managed to convince the world he had built himself.
GOOD ONE
INDIA DONALDSON
CINEMA: FROM FRI 16TH IFI@HOME: FROM TUES, JULY 15TH
17-year-old Sam (Lily Collias) is preparing to leave for a camping trip with her divorced father Chris (Lames Le Gros), and his best friend Matt (Danny McCarthy), whose son has elected to stay at home, making Sam the sole youngster. As they hike into the woods, the seemingly genial Chris is revealed to be controlling and inattentive, whilst Matt betrays a deep sadness behind his gregarious demeanour, leaving the increasingly exasperated Sam to bear witness to their moody behaviour. With deceptive simplicity, first time director India Donaldson parses the complexities of the relationships between father and daughter, and their travelling companion, portraying the subtle shifts in mood and allegiances with great delicacy, empathy, and economy. Reminiscent of Kelly Reichardt, Good One is a beautifully calibrated miniature that carries its weighty themes lightly.
89 mins, Switzerland, 2024, Digital Notes by David O’Mahony
89 mins, USA, 2024, Digital Notes by David O’Mahony
THE MARCHING BAND THE FLATS
EMMANUEL COURCOL
FROM FRI 23RD (EN FANFARE)
ALESSANDRA CELESIA
CINEMA: FROM FRI 16TH
IFI@HOME: FROM MON, JUNE 30TH
Thibaut (Benjamin Lavernhe), an internationally renowned orchestra conductor, is diagnosed with leukaemia, and is in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. His search for a donor leads him to discover that that he was adopted, a revelation that introduces him to his biological brother Jimmy (Pierre Lottin), a divorced dad with a daughter who works in a factory cafeteria and plays the trombone in a small marching band. Although worlds apart –Thibaut was raised in a posh Parisian suburb while Jimmy lives in a small working-class town – they are drawn together by a profound connection to music, and soon the sophisticated maestro finds himself rehearsing with his brother’s scrappy brass band. The Marching Band is a warm, funny, and socially conscious crowd-pleaser from the director of The Big Hit , the opening film at IFI French Film Festival 2021.
Belfast’s New Lodge is a Catholic neighbourhood violently affected by the Troubles. Many of the men who live here engaged in paramilitary activity in their youth and now suffer from disillusionment, unemployment, and poor mental health. The women work to keep the community afloat. Joe, a middleaged tower block resident, reenacts traumatic memories from his childhood. His neighbours too participate in this unsettling process, revisiting events that shaped their lives and the district they live in. A profound and provocative portrait of a community infused with deep humanity and caustic wit.
Winner Best Film at the prestigious CPH: DOX Festival, Copenhagen, 2024
The opening night screening on Friday 23rd at 18.10 will be followed by a Q&A with Alessandra Celesia.
103 mins, France, 2024,
Notes by David O’Mahony
116 mins, Ireland-Northern
2024,
Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn
THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME
Wes Anderson returns to his regular theme of the relationship dynamics between flawed fathers (or father figures) and their offspring in The Phoenician Scheme. Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro), arms dealer and one of Europe’s richest men, finds his life under constant threat from business rivals and terrorists. Fearing for the future of his business, he decides to anoint his estranged daughter Liesl, a nun with nine brothers, to be his sol heir. His protégée soon finds herself exposed to numerous assassination attempts, as well as romantic overtures from Björn Lund (Michael Cera).
Anderson populates his trademark visual style with the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Benedict Cumberbatch, and numerous others in this typically eccentric and ornate black comedy.
Join us at the IFI for the first night of The Phoenician Scheme, where we'll be hosting a special screening to ring in Wes Anderson's latest all-star entry, with surprises in store.
Afterwards, join us for a complimentary beverage at the IFI party to celebrate in signature style.
There will be Open Captioned screenings at 15.50 on Friday 23rd, and 20.45 on Monday 26th.
101 mins, USA-Germany, 2025, Digital Notes by Kevin Coyne
WES ANDERSON
FROM FRI 23RD
ALONG CAME LOVE
(LE TEMPS D’AIMER)
KATELL QUILLÉVÉRÉ
FROM FRI 30TH
Normandy, 1947. Single mother Madeleine (Anaïs Demoustier) is making ends meet by working as a waitress in a hotel restaurant. One day on the beach, she meets François (Vincent Lacoste), a student from a wealthy family; despite their contrasting social backgrounds, they embark on a passionate relationship. Madeleine harbours a secret: her son Daniel was conceived during a brief liaison with a German soldier, leading to her ostracisation as a collaborator. François, in turn, conceals his bisexuality and a past relationship with a man. The film explores their complex love story over two decades, delving into themes of deception, shame, and love. Writer-director Katell Quillévéré’s complex, romantic post-war tale is inspired by her grandmother, who had a child with a German officer during WWII – a secret she kept all her life.
Tickets for the 18.15 screening on Friday 30th will be €10.40 for IFI & Alliance Française members.
125 mins, France-Belgium, 2023, Digital, Subtitled Notes by David O’Mahony
THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND
JAMES GRIFFITHS
FROM FRI 30TH
Eccentric millionaire Charles (Tim Key) dreams of reuniting his favourite folk-rock duo, McGwyer and Mortimer, so he invites the estranged bandmates and former lovers, Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden) and Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan), unbeknownst to each other, to perform a private concert at his home on the remote (and fictional) Wallis Island. Problems arise, needless to say, the most immediate being Nell has arrived with her husband Michael (Akemnji Ndifornyen); the old musical magic might still be there, but so are the issues that broke the duo apart. Deftly switching between humour and pathos, James Griffiths’s delightful romantic comedy, which calls to mind Ealing Studios and Bill Forsyth’s beloved Local Hero (1983), is a thoroughly disarming, big-hearted crowd-pleaser with personality to spare. The Ballad of Wallis Island might very well be the film we need right now.
There will be Open Captioned screenings at 13.00 on Sunday, June 1st, and 18.30 on Wednesday, June 4th.
100 mins, UK, 2025, Digital Notes by David O’Mahony
TWO STRANGERS TRYING NOT TO KILL EACH OTHER MEMOIR OF A SNAIL
STREAMING NOW!
Grace Pudel is a lonely misfit with an affinity for collecting ornamental snails and an intense love for books. At a young age, when Grace is separated from her twin brother Gilbert, she falls into a spiral of anxiety and angst. Despite a continued series of hardships, inspiration and hope emerge when she strikes up an enduring friendship with an eccentric elderly woman named Pinky, who is full of grit and lust for life. From Academy Award-winning stop-motion animation writer and director Adam Elliot, Memoir of a Snail is a poignant, heartfelt, hilarious chronicle of an outsider finding silver linings amongst the clutter and disappointments of everyday life. Elliot’s highly anticipated follow-up to Mary and Max boasts a stellar voice cast including Sarah Snook, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Eric Bana, and Jacki Weaver.
STREAMING NOW!
Artist and writer Maggie Barrett (75) has had a complex and varied life, not without its share of trials and tribulations. She has been with world-famous street photographer Joel Meyerowitz (84) since 1990, and although they love each other dearly, Maggie struggles with her husband’s celebrity, often finding herself in his shadow, somewhat eclipsed. When she breaks her femur, Joel becomes her caregiver. Confronted by her mortality, Maggie is prompted to question their life together, inspiring the couple to seek a shared inner-peace while there is still time. Directors Jacob Perlmutter and Manon Ouimet observe the duo in their idyllic house in Tuscany and their New York apartment as they consider existential questions and ponder how each has seen and appreciated the other. A fascinating hybrid documentary filled with warmth and humour.
95 mins, Australia, 2024, Digital Notes by David O’Mahony
100 mins, UK-Italy-France, 2024, Digital Notes by David O’Mahony
ADAM ELLIOT
JACOB PERLMUTTER & MANON OUIMET
