The venues of choice at the Dublin International Film Festival tend to be, as you would imagine, cinemas. It’s a common DIFF experience to have to leg it across town between the Light House and the IFI in particular in order to fit in a busy day’s festivalling. There are always events sprinkled throughout the city however, and this year’s edition of the festival shows that any port in a storm suits to see cinema in the fair city of film. For 2025, DIFF have partnered with Dublin Port to offer two special on-site screenings that are set to explore maritime history through cinema. If you’re looking for something a little bit different this DIFF, your ship has come sailing in.
Audiences are invited to the Pumphouse at Dublin Port for two afternoon screenings during the festival that invite them to “reflect on the stories that unfold at the water’s edge and the global impact of ports, trade and the people who shape them”. On Wednesday 26th February from 2pm, the Port will host a screening of the documentary Seaweed Stories, while Sunday 2nd March will see a double bill of another doc, Smell of Money, and the classic Gene Kelly/Frank Sinatra/Tom the mouse from Tom & Jerry picture, Anchors Aweigh, taking place again from 2pm.
The Pumphouse is a unique performing arts space hosted at the heart of Dublin Port. Usually a venue for artist residencies and workshops, it will serve as a cinema venue during DIFF to present these merry old maritime times.
Narrated by Forest Whitaker, Seaweed Stories takes a global look at seaweed, and some of the stories and characters whose lives have been entangled by this often overlooked marine plant, exploring potential areas where it may hold answers to some of humanity’s biggest challenges, from sovereignity issues to tackling climate change.
Smell of Money is a new doc commissioned by the Port of Los Angeles. The film follows the history of the fishing and canning industry of the Los Angeles Harbor area, from its early days to its heyday and ultimate decline. The documentary acknowledges the lasting impact this powerful industry has made on the region’s economy and culture
Starring cinema legends Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, the classic Hollywood musical Anchors Aweigh combiness high-energy song and dance sequences with the charm of a sailor’s adventures in port. The film follows two Navy men on leave in LA, where they find themselves entangled in the life of a young woman and her dreams of stardom. Also I cannot emphasise enough that Jerry is in it.
Tickets for these events are available now from DIFF.