Last February, the Circular Bar & Grill on the South Circular Road launched the Rialto Cinema Club. These nights aimed to bring cult cinema, homegrown movies and more to Dublin 8, fitting a few screenings in before lockdown descended upon us all. This Saturday, 27th February, the cinema club returns with a selection of short films.
A hard-hitting short film recently released offers a sobering response to the 2018 Papal visit to Ireland. God Given Opportunity is a short film by Anne Marie Kelly, made in response to the Papel visit to Ireland in 2018 and Kelly’s experience at the Stand 4 Truth demonstration which coincided with Pope Francis’ mass in the Phoenix Park.
A dynamic programme of contemporary Irish hip hop and R&B musicals is set to be one of the more enticing elements of this year’s Dublin International Film Festival. Playback x DIFF is a collabaration between musical and film talent, as some of Ireland’s biggest names in the music scene engage creatively with rising and risen directing talent, producing that mutual staple of behind the camera skill and alternative expression in rap and R&B: the music video.
Director: Shaka King Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Dominique Fishback, Jesse Plemons Running Time: 126 minutes
One of many things that the last year has highlighted is that stories of authorities’ violent treatment of marginalised races are as relevant now as they have ever been. Productions like Mangrove of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series, popular television series like Watchmen and Lovecraft County and now Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah, were all in production long before the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery in the US further revealed the dangers of state sponsored brutality and injustice. Each production resonates louder in the midst of these stories, but the creators behind them are motivated by something that has spread longer and deeper than our current moment. King looks back to the 60s, and the FBI’s campaign against Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, to communicate ideas that have been current, vibrant and essential for decades. If the system endures, so too must the revolution, and King aims to inspire and enrage in his depiction of the fate of this revolutionary.
Announcements are still coming in for this year’s Dublin International Film Festival. New films, events and interviews are all on the way for the biggest festival in the fair city of film (and beyond for this year’s all-online edition), with one of Ireland’s biggest stars set to speak. The festival have announced that Colin Farrell, Amma Asante and Francis Lee will be among the guests at the 2021 festival this March.
When every waking day is scary, the Horrorthon ain’t just for Halloween folks. The Irish Film Institute’s curation of the creepy and crawly, the Horrorthon will be offering a special selection of scares this Valentine’s Day to get your heart pumping and your pulse racing, all available to stream on IFI@Home.
The full programme for this year’s all-online Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival has been announced. As the biggest film festival in the fair city of film moves all online, the Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival 2021 will serve as a celebration of the power of film to bring people together and explore the world in new ways. Taking place from 3-14 March 2021, the Festival has been re-imagined to bring audiences the best of new films and old classics, all while allowing people to attend the festival safely from their homes. This year VMDIFF will be delivered via the screening portal Eventive.
Over17 years, the Dublin International Film Festival has screened over over a thousand international films from countries all over the world as well as showcasing the work of Ireland’s very talented producers, directors, screenwriters and actors. The Festival has hosted over 600 major guests from the world of film, including Al Pacino, Angela Lansbury, Brendan Gleeson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Danny DeVito, Ennio Morricone and more. This year’s festival has announced one of the biggest current names in film on this side of the water will be participating as director Steve McQueen set to make an appearance in conversation with one of Ireland’s own leading lights.
The Dublin Smartphone Film Festival returns at the end of this month, a celebration of the possibilities for anyone to pick up their phone and start creating great films. Now in its fourth year, this international festival remains dedicated to celebrating works shot on Smartphone and Tablets, encouraging new filmmakers and providing a platform to exhibit stories through a different lens to a wider audience.
Time to prick up your ears and get ready to rock with The New Music – a foot-stomping Irish musical-drama with a big heart and a punk ethos – that has been making waves at festivals, winning the ‘Spirit of IndieCork’ Award for 2019. This heartwarming feature is now set for its full Irish and UK release on digital streaming services from 18 January 2021 courtesy of 101 Films
