Saturday, September the 16th sees the Irish Film Institute open their doors for one of the most anticipated events of the year in Dublin for cinema fans: The IFI Open Day. With the chance to see some fantastic films for free and the opportunity to see firsthand the work the IFI puts into their mission to ‘Exhibit, Preserve and Educate’ with tours of Paul Markey’s Projection Booth and the Digital Restoration Suite, it’s always something to look forward to and with 2017 being the 25th anniversary of the IFI’s landmark premises in Temple Bar, they’re celebrating with a lineup of films, announced yesterday, that has some real standout cinema.
From 90s nostalgia to award winners, franchises to silent films and film noir both classic and comedic, the lineup the IFI have put out for the open day has a lot of very interesting picks. Of course, it’s not possible to see them all, but there’s enough in there for films fans to pick out 2 or 3 screenings to leave them happy, provided they can get tickets of course. The free screenings kick off at 1pm with The Mighty Ducks, the Disney story of PeeWee hockey (but not ducks). Another highlight is a screening of the classic Bogart-Bacall pairing in The Big Sleep, one of several showings at the Open Day that will be projected on film stock, including other films in 35mm Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the Coen Brothers’ Miller’s Crossing, as well as Steve Martin’s Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid in 16mm. Intermission is sure to catch the eye of anyone who enjoys watching homegrown movies and the Audience Choice at 8.20pm is always cause for intrigue.
Tickets of course will be in high demand for many of these films, so it’s important for first-timers to know the process to be sure of not missing out. The IFI will be distributing tickets for each film in the IFI Foyer one hour before each screening starts. Limited tickets for the Gala Cine-concert will be available at 18.30. Tickets for all shows are strictly on a first-come, first-served basis, so it’s always important to arrive early to avoid disappointment.
Tickets for the Projection Booth tours and for the Digital Restoration Suite are to be reserved by emailing Sharon Corrigan (scorrigan@irishfilm.ie) or by calling the IFI at 01-679 5744. Check out the full schedule for yourself below and start picking out what you want to see!
FULL SCHEDULE
1.00 The Mighty Ducks
1.15 The Big Sleep (35MM)
1.30 Speedy
1.00 Digital Restoration Suite Tour
11.45 Digital Restoration Suite Tour
2.00 Projection Booth Tour
3.00 Digital Restoration Suite Tour
3.10 Star Trek: The Motion Picture (35MM)
3.15 Projection Booth Tour
3.30 Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (16MM)
3.40 Intermission (35MM)
3.45 Digital Restoration Suite Tour
3.00 Projection Booth Tour
4.30 Projection Booth Tour
5.30 Sorcerer
6.00 Miller’s Crossing (35MM)
6.10 Delicatessen
8.00 Weirdos
8.20 Audience Choice
8.30 Gala Cine-concert: The Cohens and Kellys
For more information about the Open Day, check out the IFI website. We’d love to know what you’re planning to see on the day, so if you’re going to be going to the Open Day, leave us a comment letting us know what films are on your shortlist.