Irish & International Guests Visiting JDIFF | The Irish Film & Television Network

Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt have been confirmed to attend the screening of new feature ‘Five Minutes of Heaven’ along with the film’s director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall) on Saturday 21st.

Colin Firth (Bridget Jone’s Diary) will attend the screening of his new film ‘Genova’ on Friday 20th, while on Sunday 22nd, the Irish animated feature ‘The Secret of Kells,’ will be attended by IFTA nominated actor Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) along with the animators from Cartoon Saloon. Irish director John Crowley will also be in attendance at the festival as two of his films the BAFTA winning ‘Boy A’ and ‘Is There Any Body There?’ starring Michael Caine are to screen.

Other guest to attend include comedian Armando Iannucci who will be bringing his Sundance hit ‘In the Loop’ to Irish audiences; Director Paulo Sorrentino will be presenting his epic film ‘Il Divo’ based on Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti; writer Michel Houellebecq’s will be in attendance with his own adaptation of his novel ‘Possibility of an Island’ and writer Neil Gaiman will attend ‘Coraline 3D’.

Special events as part of the festival include a retrospective on acclaimed Belgian Director and Artist Chantal Akerman; public conversations with Hugh Hudson and Frederic Raphael; the Jameson Film Experience with actor Clive Owen (Sin City) and a public interview with Thierry Fremaux, Artistic Director of the Cannes International Film Festival.

The Festival will present the first season of Turkish films to be screened in Ireland, a season of French films, the Real to Reel documentary season and archive presentations of ‘Mise Éire’ and of ‘The Seasons’, which will have a live accompaniment by Rossa and Colm O Snodaigh and harpist Cormac de Barra.

Commenting on the programme, Festival Director Grainne Humphreys said: “The festival’s primary remit is to screen the best of cinema from across the world from the last year, and we are delighted to say that we have been lucky enough to entice some of the best European filmmakers of our time to Dublin. However, great new films wouldn’t be made today without the archives of the world, and this year we celebrate the art of filmmaking with a combination of rare films as well as screenings of a selection of favourite films by a range of people from Camille O’Sullivan through to Dennis Hickie. It is my greatest hope that this year’s programme will transfix audiences during the eleven days of our festival, and that maybe you will find your new favourite film!”

Chief Executive Joanne O’Hagan said: “With such a vast programme of screenings and events, there really is something for everyone in this year’s festival. We are delighted to welcome such a high calibre of industry guests to Dublin, and we are really looking forward to an action packed 11 days in February (12-22). Our ticket price is the same as last year, nearly all films at 10 euro – which is great value in these challenging times. The Dublin audience loves going to the cinema and this year we hope to give them more variety and selection than ever before.”

Booking and full programme information is available at www.jdiff.com or from the Box Office in Film Base, Temple Bar, Dublin.

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