Intimate and insightful cinema at the IFI Documentary Film Festival 2023

Intimate and insightful cinema at the IFI Documentary Film Festival 2023

The IFI Documentary Film Festival kicks off this week, with the city centre cinema offering five days of features and short films, ‘from personal stories beautifully told, to a shocking investigative exploration of mysterious disappearances, from a unique viewpoint of those experiencing life behind the headlines of war, to shining a light on untold histories and discovering ordinary…

Laura McGann goes deep on The Deepest Breath

Laura McGann goes deep on The Deepest Breath

Now on Netflix, free-diving documentary The Deepest Breath has captured viewers with its high stakes storytelling and emotional turns. Ireland’s own Laura McGann, whose previous feature was the roller derby doc Revolutions, directs the film, which through word-of-mouth has become one of the most sought-out films currently streaming. Graham Day spoke with Laura about the…

Aisha Bolaji on raising voices and raising the bar for diversity in the Irish industry

Aisha Bolaji on raising voices and raising the bar for diversity in the Irish industry

People are not one genre. When a community is properly able to tell its story, we see how obviously just one story doesn’t cover it, that ‘representation’ alone doesn’t allow for the full range of expression, insight and entertainment that comes from providing underrepresented artists the freedom to create. It’s important for people to share…

Talking Star Wars Visions with Cartoon Saloon’s Paul Young

Talking Star Wars Visions with Cartoon Saloon’s Paul Young

The latest volume of the animated anthology series Star Wars Visions is available now on Disney+, providing a collection of animated episodes from studios all over the world. Ireland’s own Cartoon Saloon contributed to the new batch released on May the 4th, with studio co-founder Paul Young directing the episode ‘Screecher’s Reach’, an eery and…

Interview with a Cocaine Bear – Barra O’Connor on the effects behind an ursine addict

Interview with a Cocaine Bear – Barra O’Connor on the effects behind an ursine addict

Cocaine Bear is a film title that can’t help but capture your attention. Inspired by a real story of a black bear that overdosed on a bag of cocaine dropped by smugglers in 1985, the movie is directed by Elizabeth Banks and will feature performances by Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich and more,…

Shaun Dunne and Anna Rodgers tell all on How To Tell A Secret

Shaun Dunne and Anna Rodgers tell all on How To Tell A Secret

A powerful examination of the experiences of people who are living with HIV in Ireland today, How to Tell A Secret is a hybrid documentary film that looks at social stigma and the art of telling your story. The highly anticipated film will open on limited release in select Irish cinemas from Thursday 1st December, coinciding with World AIDS Day 2022. Robbie Lawlor…

Peter McGann, Natasha Waugh and Jonathan Hughes dig into the depths of La Tumba

Peter McGann, Natasha Waugh and Jonathan Hughes dig into the depths of La Tumba

In 2018, director Natasha Waugh and writer Jonathan Hughes worked together on short film Mother, an offbeat, darkly funny tale of a matriarchal kitchen appliance. Their latest film, La Tumba is similarly smart, taking what seems like a pure comedy premise and delivering a sincere, emotional story. Featuring lovely performances by the leads, Eloisa Etxebarria…