Marking the 20th anniversary of the Irish Film Board, the IFI will showcase some new Irish films and short films across the month of April.
Marking the 20th anniversary of the Irish Film Board, the IFI will showcase some new Irish films and short films across the month of April starting on April 12th with a screening of IFTA-winning ‘Pilgrim Hill’ and a Q&A session with director Gerard Barrett who won the IFTA and Irish Film Board Rising Star at the IFTA Awards Ceremony in February. Other screenings include a screening of ‘King of the Travellers’ on 18 April, followed by a Q&A with writer-director Mark O'Connor and cast members; On 26th April will see Kieron J. Walsh's Derry-based love story ‘Jump’ being screened followed by a Q&A with Mr Walsh and actress Charlene McKenna; and on April 27th a preview of Irish-Dutch co-production ‘Milo’ will be screened.
There will also be two discussions taking place with the first entitled ‘20:20 Visions: new directions in Irish cinema’ – with Dr Dióg O'Connell of IADT chairing a panel discussion with Jim Sheridan, Kieron J. Walsh, Mark O'Connor, Carmel Winters (Snap) and Juanita Wilson (As If I Am Not There).
The second panel - ‘A National Cinema in the Global Age’ takes place on 28th April, chaired by Tony Tracy of NUI Galway looking back at the achievements of the Irish film industry over the past 20 years. The spotlight season will finish with a special screening of Neil Jordan's new film ‘Byzantium’ on 28 April.
IFI Director Ross Keane said: "Throughout the year the IFI is committed to showing Irish film through a combination of new releases, Ireland on Sunday, archive screenings and pairing short films with features. However, in 2013 we also wanted to present a concentrated focus on Irish cinema to showcase some of the work being currently produced”
James Hickey, Chief Executive of the Irish Film Board said "We are delighted to be working on this Spotlight with the IFI, which presents an interesting and diverse range of Irish feature films from new and established directors. In particular we hope IFI audiences will enjoy the opportunity to see the wide selection of short films which reminds us of the wealth of creative talent working in the Irish film industry at the moment.”
Further information is available on the Irish Film Institute Site at www.ifi.ie