IFI Blog

Saidhbh Ni Dhulaing, IFI Membership Officer, talks about IFI Membership and explains its many benefits to customers . . .

An IFI membership is not a hard thing to encourage people to sign up for, something I soon learned having started as IFI Membership Officer recently. In fact, if you go to the cinema at the IFI even just 3 times a year, you’d be almost foolish not to opt for it.

First of all let’s look at cinema tickets - IFI members receive up to 15% off cinema tickets and our concession members (that’s pensioners, unemployed and students) receive an even greater reduction, almost 25% in fact.

Imagine for a minute that you are an IFI Member, and you come to see Tarantino’s Django Unchained this Friday night at the IFI. As a regular customer you will pay €8.90 (still good value for Dublin city on a Friday night it has to be said) but as a member you will only pay €7.70, and as a concession member you will pay a mere €6.70. You can bring up to 3 friends with you who will also receive this cheaper ticket price, so you’ll be saving your friends money too.

Django Unchained showing from January 18th

As well as reduced prices you receive loyalty points each time you spend at the IFI – 8 points for every €1 (double the amount received when using a Loyalty Card without membership). Loyalty points can be exchanged for cinema tickets once you have enough as each point equals 1c, so 670 points for example will get you a free ticket worth €6.70 and so on.

Did I mention you also collect those loyalty points every time you eat or drink at the IFI Café Bar, and each time you buy something in the IFI Film Shop? You also get a 10% discount at both of these fine establishments when you flash your membership card.*

IFI Café Bar

Once you’ve signed up (which you can do online, at our Film Shop or at the Box Office) you’ll receive a free cinema ticket meaning your first visit as a member will be ... free! You can also get a free monthly programme delivered to your home, a weekly ezine and the chance to win free tickets to a members-only preview screening every month.

In short, at this time of year when money can be tight, an IFI membership gives you a cheaper option for a great night out and an opportunity to be inspired by fascinating and award-winning films all for only €25 a year or €15 concession.

If you want to know more visit, see our IFI Membership page or you can contact me, Saidhbh Ni Dhulaing.

* discount in Café Bar is for max two diners and amount must be over €10

With so many movies being shot on digital these days, is it the end for film cameras? New documentary Side by Side, produced by Keanu Reeves, investigates the history, process and workflow of both digital and photochemical film creation. We talked to Paul Markey, IFI Projectionist, about the importance of grainy 35mmm film, old-school projectors and the future of cinema exhibition.

Side by Side, screening from February 15th - 21st at the IFI

What’s so special about 35mm? Don’t we all care for quality and convenience these days?

It’s not as cut and dried as you would imagine. 35mm and, more specifically, all its flaws became the universal cinema aesthetic these last hundred years. ‘Flaws’, such as graininess, can now be instantly corrected by digital conversion – in the case of old films, or never exist at all – in the case of new movies shot digitally. I think we are in a time of evolution in what is regarded as a quality picture. Many old films have been converted to digital with awful results – scrubbed of their grain and all slick and shiny. Even new movies, shot and released digitally, can suffer certain blandness when the final picture ends up on screen. So what defines a ‘quality’ image is in flux and has never been more in the eye of the beholder.

Becoming a projectionist doesn’t sound like an obvious career choice. Why did you choose this job?

My father instilled in me a love of movies, so it's in my blood. Retired now, he worked as a Stand In and assistant to actors (he was Daniel Day Lewis' assistant on My Left Foot and got kicked in the face by Sean Connery during The Great Train Robbery). I supposed that's been my indirect root to show business! I hate popcorn, but I like to write and am a bit of a night owl so I found a home in projection booths. Plus ultimately, it’s the projectionist not the director, who has final cut!

Are all projectionists obsessed with cinema – you must have seen hundreds if not thousands of films?

The biggest surprise I found when first working in a cinema was that most people weren't film fanatics. It was just a job. This is true of many projectionists, or they might be tech-heads and like working with the equipment. For me it is all about the films. Embedded in that is a drive to put the picture on screen in the correct ratio - many cinemas take a very flippant approach to this, especially when it comes to trailers - and decent sound levels (harder than you think!). After serving time in a multiplex for 10 years, I realised that one's taste can become polluted and standards systematically lowered. One has to strike a balance between the fast food of movies and the nourishment of film. I love all genres and all types. Some of my all-time favourites would be: O Lucky Man, Subway, Yeopgi Girl, Sons of the Desert, Police Story, California Split, Mr. Vampire.

Working in the projection room, you’re watching the audiences’ backs from above. Any memorable stories to tell or any anecdotes from the dark side to share?

Adults tend not to look up at where the light is coming from, but kids do all the time. Over the years I've seen fights break out, been blinded by laser-pens, seen whole screens thrashed by thugs (on the opening night of the Veronica Guerin movie, the audience cheered and clapped when she was shot and wrecked the screen when the credits rolled). Oh, and the ratio of Irish male pattern-baldness remains about 3 to 1! Don't get me started on cell phones...

The IFI is the only cinema in the country screening films in all possible formats – from Digibeta, DVD, Blu-ray and DCP, to 8, 16, 35 or 70mm. Why is it so important to maintain all these different forms of projection?

‘Grainy film’, as I mentioned at the start, is a flaw that is now an aesthetic element of the film picture. This debate continues to rage as film stock is converted to DCPs and Blu-ray. The grain can be easily removed, but should it? Also as regards digital, there is still little future-proofing. I could easily lace up and project a film print struck 50 years ago, but decades from now will hard drives, servers and file compression be the same? Nope. It’s a big problem facing digital preservation. In the short term we've gained a lot. Many films are being restored and distributed widely thanks to the cost-effectiveness of digital cinema but we face big questions in the long term. Our Blu-ray players and servers require regular updating as the file structure software changes, or they cease to function. The lumbering film projectors, with a dash of oil and a bit of care, have been turning for years and will, at least in the IFI, continue to do so.

Side by Side is opening from February 15th – 21st, EXCLUSIVELY at the IFI. There will be a special screening of The Last Projectionist on February 16th (14.30) & 17th (16.20).

The annual event that is St Valentine's Day. A day laced with cynicism as the red balloons start to blanket Dublin and every shop is adorned with teddy bears and red hearts. Valentine’s Day conjures up images of the traditional date night: going to the cinema and a bite to eat, or cuddling up and watching a movie with the fire roaring. But does there really need to be a rom-com in there? Here are my top three, anti-Valentine films.....

Shame

A handsome New Yorker with a compulsive addiction and a fear of intimacy, this is the bare faced reality of the wounded shunning his past trying to belong to a world that’s slowly destroying him. Evocatively shot and beautifully directed by Steve McQueen, Michael Fassbender gives a raw and compelling performance, turning any romantic notions of the world he inhabits on its head. Definitely more of a second date movie...

Fatal Attraction

Another theme of obsession, this tense thriller can still make a grown man shudder. Happily married man Michael Douglas has a weekend fling with his co-worker (Glenn Close) which goes horribly sour when she refuses to let the relationship end. His life quickly turns into a nightmare with a healthy dose of blackmail, stalking, and kidnapping. A good warning for any intendant adulterer/adulteress. Recommended for a night in with some rabbit stew...

Cyrus

Is this a truly modern love story? In honour of the wonderful John C Reilly who did an exclusive Q&A here at the IFI last weekend, Cyrus has to be on the list. Directed by the stalwarts of mumblecore - Jay and Mark Duplass - this is the story of a divorced and lonely middle aged man, who on the encouragement of his ex-wife, finds new love with a single mother, only to encounter a rival in the form of her unhinged son Cyrus. Nobody plays the downtrodden but determined romantic like Reilly with such delicacy and humour.

Shauna Lyons

Public Affairs & Marketing Director

Lucky for us, all three of these titles are available in the IFI Filmshop, so after your Valentine’s dinner at the IFI Café Bar, grab yourself a copy and leave Sleepless in Seattle for another day.

"What drove me to spend so many years working on Fire in the Blood knowing, even in the worst, loneliest moments, that this would almost certainly be the most important thing I would ever do in my life…" Dylan Mohan Gray, director of Fire in the Blood, which will screen EXCLUSIVELY at the IFI (February 21st - 28th), discusses why he felt he had to make this film and why he is particularly pleased it will screen in Ireland.

I tend to be a fairly laconic character, but must confess that I was truly thrilled when I heard that the Irish Film Institute would be screening my film, Fire in the Blood, over the course of eight days in February. In fact, I insisted on coming for opening night, because somehow I have long suspected that people in Ireland would, and will, really and truly connect with the story and message of this film. More times than I can count I have met Irish people working on health projects in different parts of Africa, in particular with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), and have invariably been deeply impressed with the energy, fierce commitment and good humour with which they were fighting the good fight for global public health and basic human rights. A few people have also mentioned to me lately that Ireland is home to Europe’s largest pharmaceutical industry, at least on a per capita basis, and that possibly adds another wrinkle to the great sense of anticipation I feel in bringing this film to audiences in Dublin.

Fire in the Blood has been a nearly six-year journey for me, though its roots go back at least a few more years before that, to an article I read in Sri Lanka back in 2004. Initially I had no intention whatsoever of making a film on this subject, but started reading obsessively about it out of pure curiosity, and soon found myself deeply shocked and angered… first of all because I was ashamed to admit I knew virtually nothing about what was clearly an episode of immense historical significance, and secondly because such scant attention had been paid to it, that no book or film provided a comprehensive account of it, and that the entire story was quickly fading into the mists of time, virtually without a trace.

Fundamentally, however, what made me see that there was a great film in all this, what caused me to lay awake thinking about it and finally one day to take the fateful decision to try and make it, despite having no expertise in non-fiction, was my enduring fascination with the ins and outs of the story, and more importantly the incredible cast of characters who played key roles in it.

That is what drove me to spend so many years working on Fire in the Blood knowing, even in the worst, loneliest moments, that this would almost certainly be the most important thing I would ever do in my life… for me this film has so many fascinating and inspirational aspects which take it far beyond the realm of HIV/AIDS, of global public health, world trade, commerce and even the wider field of human rights. This is a story about money and power, how we treat one another as human beings, but also how any single one of us can rise above the cynicism and casual inhumanity which surrounds us all the time and decide to change the world for the better, no matter how daunting the adversary. Even after so many years, I still find that idea incredibly uplifting and empowering.

Dylan Mohan Gray will attend the opening night screening at 18.20 on February 21st and take part in a Q&A. Book now or call the IFI Box Office on 01 679 3477.

IFI International, with the support of Culture Ireland, is teaming up with cultural partners across the EU to mount a major programme of Irish film during Ireland’s EU Presidency, running from January to June 2013.

The first six months of 2013 mark the seventh time that Ireland has held the Presidency of the EU. It provides Ireland with a central role in the machinations of European politics, but it’s also an opportunity for our wind-swept island to attract the attention of our cosier mainland European neighbours. Yet for all the important business being done in our capital at present, the Presidency is perhaps quite opaque to most of the Union’s 500 million citizens, both here in Ireland and farther afield.

In January the Irish Government launched the Culture Connects programme to engage Irish artists in Europe, and European artists in Ireland. It serves up a smorgasbord (or depending where in Europe you are, a mezze platter or tapas selection) of Irish arts and artists to audiences across the EU and beyond. There’s a wide diversity of art forms being showcased, and between now and June the IFI is packing its bags and bringing Irish film on tour.

This weekend the 1926 silent film Irish Destiny is making its way to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in Brussels. The first fiction film dealing with the Irish War of Independence, it delivers all the thrills and spills an audience would expect of a romance narrative with a dashing hero – but it also combines rare actual newsreel of wartime events, making it also to an astonishing historical record. Now almost 90 years later, it’s brought even more to life with a rousing score by Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, to be performed live in concert by the 22-player Orchestra of Wallonie.

Irish Destiny is just one of three ciné-concerts that the IFI is touring for the EU Presidency. Guests of the Nation is destined for London’s Barbican next month, with Niall Byrne’s score set to soar under the baton of David Brophy. In June, Willy Reilly and His Colleen Bawn takes to the road with composer Bernard Reilly and a group of 12 musicians, for screenings and concerts in Berlin, Paris and Madrid.

Combining film and live music in overseas venues is not a straightforward process. How can it be dark enough for projection but bright enough for musicians? How can we fit two languages worth of translated subtitles into the same frame as the original intertitle cards? What if the harp gets in the way of the screen?! For the duration of the Presidency I am in daily contact with our venue partners throughout Europe, and working through the challenges and rewards and languages and cultures that a project like this presents. But these are fascinating programmes to work on, presenting a very rich intersection between two arts forms and combining old and new, showcasing not only some of the best of Ireland’s film heritage but also some of its most talented contemporary musicians. It breathes a whole new life into the enjoyment and appreciation of these films; both in the creation of a completely new score to enrich and enlighten the film narrative, but also in bringing the thrill of live performance into each screening.

Lucy Healy-Kelly
International EU Presidency Coordinator

Read more about IFI International and our EU Presidency Programme in 2013.

Coinciding with the IFI’s full retrospective of Neil Jordan’s cinematic work throughout the month of May, the IFI will be displaying rarely-seen documents donated by Neil Jordan to the IFI Irish Film Archive.

Kasandra O'Connell (Head of IFI Irish Film Archive) and Neil when Neil officially donated his research and document collection to the IFI Irish film Archive

In June 2009, coinciding with publicity for director Neil Jordan’s upcoming feature Ondine, it was announced that Jordan had donated the paper material relating to his films to the IFI Irish Film Archive of the Irish Film Institute. The material had been regularly transferred to the Archive since 2006, but the delay in publicising the acquisition means that this fascinating collection has been catalogued and is now fully accessible to researchers.

Jordan’s collection has been delivered film by film, and currently the Archive holds material from The Crying Game (1992), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Michael Collins (1996), The Butcher Boy (1997), In Dreams (1999) and Breakfast on Pluto (2005). Documents relating to other productions are being delivered and made accessible on an on-going basis.

Storyboard from 'Michael Collins'

The material for each film includes documents relating to background research, production and set design, location scouting and photography, visual effects, soundtrack and sound mixing, awards, press, storyboards, shot lists, production schedules, draft scripts and screenplays, and stills. Together the material gives an insight into the working methods of one of Ireland's foremost directors.

Jordan initially had success in the 1970s as an author, before beginning his film career as script consultant on John Boorman’s Excalibur (1981) and directing the documentary The Making of Excalibur: Myth into Movie. He also wrote the script for Joe Comerford’s Traveller which premiered at the Cork Film Festival in 1981. In 1982 he wrote and directed his first feature film, Angel, funded by the newly-established Irish Film Board. This was followed in 1984 by The Company of Wolves, and subsequently Mona Lisa (1986), High Spirits (1988), We’re No Angels (1989) and The Miracle (1991).

In 1992 Jordan directed The Crying Game which brought him international acclaim and was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning Best Original Screenplay. Jaye Davidson was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Dil, but the Archive’s collection reveals the range of other actors who had originally competed for the role. Headshots of these actors made up as women are present, and seem strangely jarring dressed as the character made famous by Davidson’s outstanding performance.

The Crying Game head shot of Jaye Davidson

Following the international success of The Crying Game, Jordan went to America to direct an adaptation of an Anne Rice novel, resulting in the Oscar-nominated film Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles. As in the The Crying Game collection, the possibility of other potential actors in key roles are presented in the Archive's collection. Various (uncast) A-list actors are beautifully sketched as the vampires Louis and Lestat, as well as the film’s stars Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Research material for the vampires' look includes a grotesque file of images of corpses in various stages of decomposition.

Jordan returned to Ireland in 1996 to make Michael Collins, a project which he had been working on since the 1980s. Around 100 versions, fragments and rewrites are held under various alternative titles, spanning years of script development. Once completed the film was nominated for two Academy Awards, validating the unusually long time the project spent in pre-production.

Casting polaroid shot of Eamon Owens for The Butcher Boy

Following the success of Michael Collins, Jordan worked on an adaptation of Pat McCabe’s novel The Butcher Boy (1997). Again the script exists in multiple rewrites and revisions. A key issue with the adaptation appears to have been the colloquial language used, with the collection including various lists of Irish slang terms and their “translations” for American audiences. Following The Butcher Boy Jordan returned to the US once again in 1999 to make In Dreams and the The End of the Affair. This was followed by The Good Thief (2002), filmed in the South of France.

Jordan then set up the production company Company of Wolves which produced Intermission (2003) and The Actors (2003). In 2005 he adapted another Pat McCabe novel for the screen, Breakfast on Pluto. One script used by Jordan during the making of the film includes handwritten amendments made on set, showing that even during the shooting changes could be made.

Neil Jordan and Ian Wilson on set of The Crying Game

Overall, the Neil Jordan Collection gives a fascinating insight into the practicalities of the production of major feature films. Seemingly mundane items build a picture of the work involved in bringing the production together, including documents like prop lists, logs tracking tides, sunrise and sunset times, arrangements for shooting “behind-the-scenes” footage, and files of photographs taken by location scouts around Ireland and the UK. Such documents may be of interest both to film fans wishing to contextualise Jordan’s body of work, and to budding filmmakers curious to see the approach taken by a veteran Irish film director.

The Collection is an incredibly rich resource for Irish film researchers, and in time should be completed with the addition of material relating to all of Jordan’s films mentioned in this article. The collection is available for researchers at the Irish Film Archive by appointment. Many of the films mentioned are also available to view at the Archive's viewing facilities.

Rebecca Grant

IFI Librarian (2006 - 2012)

See our exclusive collection of production files, stills, draft scripts, set design and storyboards, all of which give a fascinating insight into the creative process of one of Ireland’s most acclaimed directors is now available online.

Neil Jordan Retrospective runs throughout May at the IFI. His new film, Byzantium, opens on May 31st.

This article was first published in Film Ireland in 2009 and it has been made available online with their kind permission.

A chance to see anything from Studio Ghibli on the big screen is not to be missed and Studio Canal have seized the opportunity of the 25th anniversary of two titles, My Neighbour Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies which were released as a double bill in Japan in 1988, to release them in cinemas on this side of the world.

If you have never seen Totoro, or you know a small person who has yet to enter the magical world of forest creatures, spirits, brave and curious children that are typical of Japanese master Hiyao Miyazaki’s creations, then do them and yourself a favour, and bring them along to the IFI during these special May screenings, from 24th to 30th of May.

My Neighbour Totoro

Showing in the dubbed version on May 25th and 26th (voiced by Fanning sisters, Elle and Dakota), Totoro wasn't a hit on first release; Japanese viewers took time to find its appeal. However they and the rest of the world soon recognised the sheer beauty and ingenuity of this hand-drawn rural fantasy world in which the girls wander while seeking comfort for the absence of their hospitalised mother. Totoro, created by Miyazaki for the film, turns out to be a big friendly creature, and his film offers us family life and forest life where the girls' imaginations are allowed to roam and invites the viewer to engage their imagination too. Lovingly crafted, in every corner there is something happening and not one frame of the film is wasted.

Grave of the Fireflies

Look, watch and marvel at the work of a master. His new film, The Wind Rises, opens in Japan in July.

Alicia McGivern

Head of IFI Education

My Neighbour Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies will screen at the IFI from May 24th to 30th. Book online or call our Box Office on 01-6793477.

I arrived in Cannes this year, for my second visit to the Festival, a few days after its official opening and was instantly playing catch up! With five nights already under the belt for many people, and with reviews flooding in, I quickly scrambled to figure out what I had to see.

By the time I got settled and registered, there was only time for one screening on Monday, and since we often find many films for the IFI French Film Festival at Cannes, I decided to begin proceedings with Les Rencontres d'apres minuit. It's a film many have been talking about - largely due to its controversial subject matter. The film is set over the course of one night as a variety of guests arrive for an orgy. With guest names including The Slut, The Stud and The Teen, it's not your average dinner party! The cast includes Eric Cantona and Beatrice Dalle. All put in good performances but I wanted the film to engage me more overall.

Les Rencontres d'apres minuit

Tuesday saw a marathon day of five films. The morning started with another French film and one that had also generated a lot of talk and interest. Playing as part of Un Certain Regard, L'Inconnu du lac/Stranger by the Lake is also causing a bit of controversy. Set in a cruising spot for gay men, the film contains a lot of explicit scenes, but the tone changes when the main protagonist witnesses a murder and the film suddenly becomes a whole lot more engaging. It's beautifully shot and utilises just three locations throughout the film - the car park, the lake and the woods. It's a thought-provoking film by Alain Guiraudie and one that we're all still discussing.

Cast and crew of L'Inconnu du lac/Stranger by the Lake

Fresh from a lot of media attention, Pussy Riot are the focus of Mike Lerner's doc, Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer. The film follows the band in the build up to their performance at the Orthodox Cathedral, their subsequent arrest, court case and appeal. With good access to the band and their families, it presents a fairly balanced view of the situation, at times with the girls coming across as extremely naive and foolish, while at the same time exposing religious extremism.

Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer

Steven Soderbergh may have said he had made his last film, but Behind the Candelabra - which was made for TV - gives us a good chance to see his work back on the big screen. Telling the story of virtuoso pianist Liberace (Michael Douglas) and his secret five year love affair with Scott Thorson (Matt Damon), it's a thoroughly entertaining watch. The first half is an enjoyable romp, fairly frivolous with its fair share of chuckles. But as their relationship begins to spiral and the cracks begin to show, it starts to become a darker affair. The two leads give great performances. Michael Douglas clearly relishes the opportunity to play the effeminate Liberace, while Matt Damon has the bigger character arc to portray going from wide-eyed country boy to a near-replica of his camp older lover, with a drug habit on the side to add to the effect. A mention has to go to Rob Lowe, the plastic surgeon who works on both leads - his facial paralysis, squinting eyes and inability to take a sip due to his own amount of surgery gives for a wonderfully comic performance.

Behind the Candelabra

Youth /Jeunesse is a French film from first time director Justine Malle dealing with first love and the looming loss of a parent. It's a good first film and particularly shines during the protagonist's attempts to discover her sexual identity.

La Grande Bellezza/The Great Beauty

The final film of the day was the red carpet gala of Paola Sorrentino's La Grande Bellezza/The Great Beauty. The whacky world of Sorrentino was a joy to spend just over two hours in. The opening ten minutes - including a frenzied party scene - was a joy to watch and set the tone for the whole film. Toni Servillo was fantastic as main character Jep Gambardella who celebrates his 65th birthday and looks on at the world and characters around him. While it could do with an edit, and doesn't all quite make sense, if you let it wash over you and don't ask too many questions, it's an absolute pleasure.

Ross Keane

Director

Day 3 at Cannes began with glorious sunshine and ended with a lot of rain! Would the films follow the same path and start full of cheer and end on a damp note?

My first film of the day - and possibly my favourite to date - was La Jaula de Oro/La Cage doree (unofficial English title: The Golden Cage). This film by Spanish director Diego Quemada-diez was a beautiful and powerful story of three young teenagers trying to flee Guatemala towards Los Angeles. When they meet an Indian boy who joins their group, things begin to change within their group dynamics. Their struggle can be heart-breaking at times and I found myself so drawn into the story that I was just willing them to get a good break. It's tender, moving and beautifully shot and I can't wait for more people to get to see it so I can talk with them about it!

La Jaula de Oro/La Cage doree

The theme of Wednesday seemed to be people down on their luck and Grisgris - which was playing in Competition - could certainly fit the bill. Despite a paralysed leg, 25-year-old Grisgris dreams of being a dancer. But when his stepfather becomes ill and the family cannot afford the medical bills, he resorts to desperate measures to try to help his family. The actor Souleymane Deme, also paralysed in real life, puts in a moving performance. He scored a lot of points from the Cannes crowd after he danced for everyone on the red carpet before the screening! It's a touching tale by director Mahamat-Saleh Hardoun.

The Argentian comedy Diablo was next on my list but coupled with a few technical hitches and soaking shoes (yes, the rain had started at this stage), perhaps I wasn't in the right frame of mind for it as it didn't do anything for me.

The final film of the night was a special screening of the 1972 documentary Weekend of a Champion which had been re-edited and updated with new material. It follows Roman Polanski and his friendship with Formula One driver Jackie Stewart and focuses on the sportsman's attempt to hold onto his title at the Monte Carlo Grand Prix. For anyone with an interest in motor racing, this film is an absolute must. For the non-enthusiasts, it does go into a lot of detail about which gear you should be in at each turn during the circuit! It was a very special screening however with lots of guests in attendance including Polanski and stars of two of his films' stars Christoph Waltz and Adrien Brody (both sitting just 5 seats away from me!) and lots of people from the motor racing world including Jackie Stewart, Damon Hill and Alain Prost.

Weekend of a Champion

So despite the earlier sunny weather, by the time I dragged myself home at the end of the day after lots of queuing in the rain, I looked like a drowned rat. This Cannes business isn't all glamour you know!

Ross Keane

Director

Read Part One of our Cannes blog.

Day Four in Cannes and it's all about queuing. Long queues. Despite being full of industry professionals who you'd imagine would be the most reverential of audiences, Cannes audiences seem to have the worst cinema etiquette! Phones are constantly lighting up - it's half understandable as people are often logging on to check on ticket availability - but even at the bigger competition screenings, when they announce that all phones should be switched off, there's a constant glow of mobile phone activity.

Another Cannes staple is the constant in and out as people come and go - again this is partly understandable as time is precious, so if you find yourself at a dud screening, there's always something else just about to start elsewhere that you could hedge your bets on instead. But what is completely infuriating is the constant chat. During L'Inconnu du Lac/Stranger by the Lake, three people had a full-blown conversation and then proceeded to giggle like nervous children at every sex scene. At The Great Beauty/La Grande Bellezza, the people beside me - who clearly weren't getting into Sorrentino's crazy world - were unable to keep their frustrations to themselves and had to critically debate the film there and then. At Grisgris my neighbours managed to combine a lot of my pet peeves - they left the sound on their phone on, took and sent texts, and decided to give a running commentary of the whole film!

Rant nearly over! Today, being the day of queues, Cannes etiquette once again took me by surprise. With all the talk about Nicholas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives, this morning's screening was always going to be in demand, and as Cannes goers realise, that means queuing. For a long time! So two hours in advance of the screening time, I had my place in the queue. However, for the next 90 minutes, new arrivals barged in front with no shame or skipped the queue to join friends. Where is the Cannes Cinema Etiquette? Survival of the fittest?!

So onto Only God Forgives. This divided audiences and critics at its first screening yesterday. But I was pleasantly surprised. It doesn't deserve the vitriolic response it's received in some quarters. Yes it's flawed, resembles a Greek tragedy and has many thinly developed characters. But it held my attention. Set in a Bangkok boxing club which acts as a front for drug business, Julian (a non-emotive Ryan Gosling) is pressured by his mother Crystal (Kirsten Scott Thomas) into avenging the death of his brother who was killed after murdering a young prostitute. Scott Thomas must have had great fun with her OTT role and it's a beautifully lit film. But boy is it violent? Let's just say it gives a whole new meaning to 'see no evil, hear no evil'. That was quite a lot of blood to stomach so soon after breakfast!

And from one queue to the next. As we draw towards the latter stages of the Festival there are reruns of some of the official selection, giving everyone a chance to see some of the bigger titles that they may have missed earlier in the week. So, for another two hours, I stood patiently in line (when else do you think I'd have time to write blogs!) for Arnaud Desplechin's Jimmy P. Based on a true story it follows Jimmy Picard (Benicio Del Toro), a Native American Blackfoot who fought in World War II in France. Upon his return and suffering from a range of symptoms including headaches and temporary blindness, Jimmy is admitted to a mental institution for soldiers. But when no simple medical solution can be found, the hospital management drafts in Georges Devereux (Mathieu Amalric), a French anthropologist and specialist in Native American culture. The relationship between doctor and patient forms the basis of this simply told story. With no huge dramatic climax, it's a gently engaging story with solid performances from both the leads and supporting cast (Gina McKee gives a lovely understated performance as George's partner Madeleine).

Inside Llewyn Davis

Next up was a change in tone as I grabbed a late opportunity to see the Coen Brothers' latest, Inside Llewyn Davis. After a lot of very sombre films with challenging subject matters, it was a refreshing change of pace to enter the world of Ethan and Joel Coen for their story of a young folk singer in Greenwich Village in 1961. Struggling to make a living from his music and living on the kindness (which may be about to wear thin) of friends and family, Llewyn Davis is a little lost in life! Oscar Isaac is a wonderful lead and ably carries the film on his shoulders. The film starts brilliantly but somewhat loses its way during a road trip to Chicago with John Goodman in the back seat! But overall it's an enjoyable watch. There's the usual wonderful soundtrack that one has to come to expect from the Coens, but you'll even get to tap your foot along to a rendition of The Auld Triangle performed in Aran sweaters! It may not go down as a Coen classic but it's still a very enjoyable ride.

Ross Keane

Director

Cannes Film Festival 2013 - read Ross' blogs: Part One and Part Two.

“Not long to the tour now...” I hear my fellow musicians declare! Well, it's been an interesting journey that began over 12 years ago when I first researched ideas for a movie with a new score. Sunniva O’Flynn helped me select the film Willy Reilly and His Colleen Bawn, and it proved to be an exciting project for me as a composer so I began to create a voice for each character reflecting the theatrical performances you will see on the screen...

The feature begins with a holdup… Squire Folliard is held up by the Highwayman Red Rapparee and his gang. Our hero Willy Reilly comes on the scene and rescues him, and the grateful Folliard brings Willy to his home where he meets and falls in love with the squire's daughter, Helen, the Colleen Bawn. Folliard opposes the liaison between Helen and Willy because of their different religious backgrounds, and seeks to encourage Helen to marry the bigoted, anti-Catholic Sir Robert Whitecraft… What will happen? Will the scheming Whitecraft get his way or will the Colleen Bawn find her true love?

Composer Bernard Reilly

After two performances in Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, and our debut at the National Concert Hall last summer, we are sooo excited about our three city tour in June where we will perform the 'live to screen' film concerts in Paris (Cinema Le Balzac, 10th June 8.30pm), Berlin (Kino Babylon, 8th June 8pm) and Madrid (Ciné Dore, 12th June 7.30pm). Please come and join us for our final pre-tour Dress Rehearsal with the CinéTheatre Ensemble on June 5th at 6:30pm Irish Film Institute,Temple Bar.

See you there!

Bernard Reilly

Composer

Willy Reilly and His Colleen Bawn with a magnificent new score composed and conducted by Bernard Reilly and performed live by the Irish Cine Theatre Ensemble will screen on Wednesday, June 5th at 18.30. Tickets available at the Box Office (016793477) and online.

This event is presented by the Irish Film Institute as part of the International Culture Programme to celebrate Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and is supported by Culture Ireland and The Arts Council of Ireland.

Unmade films, fine performances and false advertising. It's just another day at Cannes...

As the films were mounting up, I decided it was time for another doc, and playing as part of Quinzaine des Realisateurs was Jodorowsky's Dune, the story of the greatest film never made. Directed by Frank Pavich, it's largely a heads-to-camera doc, with Jodorowsky himself relaying his vision for the film that would "change humanity"! With input from many of his collaborators on the project, Pavich provides a detailed account of all the work that went into the film. Jodorowsky is a charismatic character and a raconteur extraordinaire. One also gets the impression that you may have to take some of his stories with a grain of salt as many appear to have fallen prey to some enthusiastic embellishment. However, the documentary is a fascinating insight into the obsession and determination that drive Jodorowsky in his ambition and vision, and it's a thoroughly entertaining and amusing watch to boot.

Michael Kohlhaas

I was very excited to see Mads Mikkelson on screen again this year after his performance in The Hunt which was one of my highlights at Cannes 2012. This time he returned in Arnaud de Palliere's Michael Kohlhaas where he plays the titular character in a film set in 16th century France. After suffering an injustice, and being a man of principles, Kohlhaas looks for justice (initially through legal means and then choosing to take the law into his own hands) with massive repercussions. It's an epic story and, once again, Mikkeksen doesn't disappoint. The story at times seems familiar even with hints of Robin Hood but with such a capable actor at the helm it's still worth a watch.

James Gray's The Immigrant

Next up was James Gray's The Immigrant. Set in 1921, Ewa Cybulska (Marion Cotillard) and her sister Magda leave their home in Poland in search of the American dream and a better life in New York. However, her dreams are shattered from the outset when her sister is quarantined with suspected TB and Ewa is threatened with immediate deportation due to actions of 'low morals' during the boat trip over. Enter Bruno (Joaquin Phoenix) who she begs for help so that she can remain in America. At what price, however, does his help come? Also starring Jeremy Renner (as Bruno's charismatic cousin), the film is a marvellous vehicle for Cotillard, who is spellbinding. While the film doesn't have anything new to say, its leads are interesting and Gray manages to avoid black and white characters, with each having shades of good and bad, making for a much more interesting story.

Nothing Bad Can Happen

A title like Nothing Bad Can Happen arouses suspicion at Cannes where, let's face it, something (very) bad is happening at the vast majority of the films on offer! Well, if a film could be sued for false advertising due to a misleading title then Katrin Gebbe's offering would warrant a court appearance. Based on true events, a young man Tore (played by Julius Feldmeier) joins an extreme religious group called the Jesus Freaks and is desperate to cling to a belief. So when he meets Benno (Sascha Gersak) and his family, he begins to believe that it is God's way that brought them together and he soon moves in with this strange family. What follows is a series of increasingly manipulative and abusive behaviour from Benno (and then also his wife) which makes for very difficult and uncomfortable viewing. While it may be hard to watch and (personally for me) a struggle to identify with what compels Tore to stay, the performances are undeniably good. Gersak gives an intriguing and powerful portrayal of a character who goes from someone who initially appears to be venting some of his frustrations with his life on the new arrival but gradually becomes more psychotic and evil. Regardless, I learned something vital - never trust a title at Cannes!

Ross Keane

Director

Cannes Film Festival 2013 - read Ross' blogs: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.

After queuing for well over an hour for Yolande Moreau's Henri (are you sensing that I'm over queues yet, or do I need to be less subtle!), there was no room at the inn and the majority of the line was turned away...

The Last Days on Mars

Next up on my list (and another queue was awaiting) was Ruairi Robinson's science fiction film The Last Days on Mars which was part-funded by Bord Scannan na hEireann/Irish Film Board. It was great to hear the huge cheer that the Film Board logo received when it appeared on screen during the opening credits. A routine excavation goes horribly wrong for the crew of Tantalus Base on Mars, just hours before their mission was due to come to a close. As the group get picked off one by one, the remaining group hold out for the arrival of the relief ship Aurora. Robinson's film is an extremely accomplished piece of work and a fine addition to the sci-fi genre. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and builds momentum nicely as time starts running out for the constantly reducing-in-number crew. It got a great response from the Cannes audience too.

Mohammad Rasoulof

Playing in Un Certain Regard was Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof's Manuscripts Don't Burn. Based on real events, it follows the persecution of intellectuals in Iran and the determination of writers to get their work published without censorship. Khosrow and Morteza are hired to carry out an assassination to keep a writer's manuscript from being published, but they need to make it look like a suicide. But things don't go according to plan and there are other copies of the unpublished work being held by friends which also need to be tracked down and the minders silenced before their job is complete. It's a compelling film by Rasoulof (who also wrote the screenplay) highlighting the difficulties experienced by artists and writers in Iran.

Only Lovers Left Alive

Jim Jarmusch returns with Only Lovers Left Alive, a vampire tale set in Detroit and Tangier. Adam and Eve (Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton) have been lovers for centuries. Living separately as the film opens he's depressed by the state of the human race (or 'zombies' as he calls us!) so Eve feels the need to leave her beloved Tangier to be with him. There's a long build-up to the lovers being reunited and the pace is rather slow. Jarmusch clearly enjoys all the references to their amazing pasts and to their artistic creations that they handed onto others (Shakespeare included!) so that their work could live but they could remain in the shadows. While this joke gets overly laboured, it does help to define the tone of the film. The story gets going when Eve's sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska) turns up and unsettles their world. The lighting is dark throughout and the fine actors aren't overly stretched but many will love Jarmusch's take on the now familiar world of vampires on film.

Jeune et Jolie/Young and Beautiful

And then no sooner had it all begun than it was all coming to an end and I found myself in a queue (where else?!) for Francois Ozon's Jeune et Jolie/Young and Beautiful. It's a coming-of-age story of a 17-year-old girl during the course of one year of her life. Broken down into 4 chapters/seasons, we begin in summer where Isabelle (a wonderful Marine Vacth), on holidays with her family, meets fellow holidaymaker Felix from Germany. After losing her virginity to him on the beach, the complex Isabelle retreats from him, coldly brushing him off. What develops over the next three seasons is a development of this sexual awakening where the troubled and distant Isabelle makes some surprising life choices. It's a story that's been told in different ways before, but Vacth is simply captivating. Perhaps one of the best things that can be said for a film at this stage in Cannes is that it completely holds your attention (as fatigue is setting in for everyone at this stage), and this film did just that. A good choice of film to close Cannes 2013 for me.

Until next year Cannes...

Ross Keane

IFI Director

Cannes Film Festival 2013 - read Ross' blogs: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.

In advance of the release of Morrissey 25: Live exclusively at the IFI, Eoin Devereux writes an IFI Blogpost about Morrissey’s Latino/Chicano Fans:

In the early 1990s a fan subculture focused on Morrissey emerged in the eastern suburbs of Los Angeles. Undoubtedly inspired by Morrissey’s own relocation to Los Angeles, the Chicano/Latino fan subculture played a significant role in reviving his career in commercial terms. The Chicano/Latino fan subculture has attracted widespread media interest. Such media coverage has tended to focus on what it perceives as its cult-like, fanatical and obsessive aspects rather than seeing it as I do as a really interesting example of fan creativity.

The Latino/Chicano fans localize certain aspects of fan culture associated more generally with Morrissey. This is in evidence in dress code e.g. mimicking Morrissey’s earlier Rockabilly style; tattoo artwork; t-shirts with slogans like ‘Mexican Blood/American Heart’ and ‘Moz Krew: LA from Westside to the South Bay’. A group of Mexican immigrants play in a Smiths/Morrissey tribute band called Sweet and Tender Hooligans. As a tribute to their (anti) hero, Morrissey’s Chicano/Latino fans have re-named their adopted hometown as ‘Moz Angeles.’

Many of his Chicano/Latino fans refer to how his songs have strong redemptive qualities, often describing their icon in quasi-religious terms. One fan told documentary maker Kerri Koch in her film Passions Just Like Mine (2010) “What appeals to me most about Morrissey is his look on life… how there can be a depressing side but still find hope and live life to the fullest I guess” with another stating “His music is the soundtrack of my life, he reaches my innermost thoughts and fears and aspirations and longing. For a long time, I felt isolated and alone. Only Morrissey comforted me.”

The Chicano/Latino subculture is an obvious example of the glocalizing tendencies of popular culture. Morrissey’s own status as the outsider’s outsider and particularly his second generation (Irish) immigrant and lapsed Catholic status are obvious points of connection between him and his Chicano/Latino fans. His singing style has been compared to the Mexican ‘Ranchera’ genre and he has engaged directly with Chicano/Latino experience in songs like ‘The First of The Gang to Die’ and ‘Mexico’. Morrissey’s authenticity and ambiguity allows for a wide range of fan interpretations of his work. His Latino/Chicano fans, as is in evidence in Morrissey 25: Live demonstrate the sheer scale of passion that fans have for this most reluctant and controversial icon.

Dr. Eoin Devereux is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at University of Limerick. He is the co-editor of the book Morrissey: Fandom, Representations and Identities (Intellect Books: 2011).

Morrissey 25: Live will screen EXCLUSIVELY at the IFI on the 26th, 27th, 29th and 30th August.BOOK NOW.

As the IFI reporter from the Venice Film Festival, for the last couple of weeks I have been posting news, reviews, interviews and overall gossip from the Lido – I hope you have been following my updates featured on the IFI Twitter account? It’s has been a lot of work, but enjoyable work, which sadly is coming to an end – for now.

Before it does, I would like to do a couple of things. One of them is to publicly thank the wonderful people at the Irish Film Institute who made this possible for me. I would particularly like to thank Alicia McGivern and Shauna Lyons, as well as Anna Pas in the last stage of my Venice adventure, with whom I had direct contact and whom I hope to remain in contact with in the future. I hope to have repaid their trust with dedicated reports on Twitter and from my website. I also hope to have represented them well in this 28 Times Cinema project, a programme set up by the European Parliament for young cinephiles – one from each European country – to come together and discuss cinema.

Cinema is something I have always connected with and something that has always meant an awful lot to me. This passion and love I feel for it led me to study Film and TV in GMIT, a course which I successfully completed in 2010. While I started the course with an idea of becoming a filmmaker, I realised that perhaps what I really wanted to do was talk about film and open cinematic debates by pursuing a career in film journalism.

While at the 70th Venice International Film Festival, I collaborated with CineEuropa, who set up a blog for us and our reports and reviews, and also linked the IFI to all my shorter reviews for all the screenings I attended. I also kept a daily Venice diary which I compiled for Film Ireland. My three interviews were with the director of the festival Alberto Barbera and the filmmakers Bruce la Bruce and Costanza Quatriglio. So far, I have had a chance to meet many interesting people and to network.

I always carried my audio recorder with me at every screening, just in case the filmmaker attended and spoke about the movie, giving me the chance to include his or her thoughts and stories. To complete my self-training on the ‘report’, I practiced the art of sneaking into press conferences without a press badge, or standing next to the door and overhearing what was said. The main one of these was the one for Philomena, the film by Stephen Frears which at the time of writing looks set to win the competition. At the time, I hadn’t seen the film, so I just posted what was said at the conference directly transcribed. Another priceless experience I received here in Venice was in interviewing, which I think is the ultimate promotion that the press and media in general can offer to a filmmaker and his creation.

Certainly the most important thing I learned about this job is that you can never forget that you are a dedicated film fan first. Film is a wonderful form of art, perhaps the most impressive, but it is so mistreated that sometimes it is hard to watch. If journalists start acting superior to cinema, then we can all kiss its credibility goodbye. On a personal level, I want to be involved, and I will work very hard to build a reputation as a good and hard-working promoter of film.

So, that’s what I have learnt so far in my experience in Venice. At the risk of seeming incredibly pretentious, I would really like to open a debate particularly regarding Irish cinema from what I learnt here in Venice. It is crucial not to underestimate the value of film reporting, film interviewing and film critique. Ireland needs a good film magazine. Ireland needs more critique circles. Ireland needs more talks before special screenings. This type of film promotion is exactly what can moderate film culture, promote film passion and certainly, when done right, generate more money in the industry.

Matt Micucci

For the fourth year in a row, young film-lovers representing each of the European countries have attend the Venice Days. Matt Micucci has been selected by IFI Education as this year's representative from Ireland and he's been tweeting tirelessly from the Lido on behalf of the IFI. You can follow Matt on Twitter at @MattMicucci89!

Film scholar Daniel Fitzpatrick has curated the IFI and Experimental Film Club programme for September, and here he discusses its theme: Re-evaluating British documentary cinema

British cinema has always gotten a bad rap. Ever since Truffaut made the claim that the words ‘Britain’ and ‘cinema’ were incompatible it has struggled to be taken seriously. For Truffaut and many others this was a cinema that was “boring”, lacked “enthusiasm, zeal and impetus”; it was a cinema that reflected “a submissive way of life”. Britain’s cinema has been continuously dismissed for being dull, safe and ‘realistic’, in the pejorative use of the term, but this screening of short films taken from various points within Britain’s history of documentary film production quickly puts paid to those claims. What is revealed instead is an evolving tradition of experimentation and innovation. It is a history full of contradictions and often apposite positions. The Free Cinema movement for example, and its figurehead Lindsay Anderson, rejected outright the influence of John Grierson and the formative British documentary film movement, opting instead for a low budget form with no ties to industry or government and little or no editorialising commitment. Their film O Dreamland (1953) is included here. The film was shot on, what was then, newly affordable 16mm stock and it takes us on an almost hallucinatory trip through the Margate funfair, taking in, among other things, a terrifying cackling clown and a ‘Torture Through The Ages’ exhibit.

The Free Cinema movement took their primary inspiration from Humphrey Jennings, often considered the true poet of British documentary cinema. Jennings films stripped away everything that was deemed unnecessary in the documentary form, replacing the narrative voice with a collage of sounds that far more effectively captured the specifics of a time and place. Included in this programme is his film Spare Time. Originally created for the New York World Fair of 1939, it offers us a picture of Britain at work and at play in the interwar period. This deeply evocative film also reflected Jennings involvement with the Mass Observation movement, removed as it was from the kinds of editorialising and condescension that often dogged documentary cinema and its engagement with the ‘working classes’.

Len Lye Trade Tattoo (1937)

Going back to British documentary’s formative period and John Grierson’s reign as head of both the Empire Marketing Board and later the GPO Film Unit we find here an equally dazzling embrace of formal experimentation and playful innovation. Within his stated objective of making films that would speak directly to the masses, that would educate and inform, Grierson managed to surround himself with a truly eclectic group of creatives, many of whom were drawn from an emergent European avant-garde. These would include Alberto Cavalcanti, Len Lye (two films by Lye are included in this programme), Norman McLaren (his short Love On The Wing is featured here), Basil Wright and Edgar Antsey. These filmmakers often truly functioned as a collective with various influences present across a wide number of films. The films themselves, particularly those included here, were full of ideas, highly adventurous, and certainly never dull.

Hans Richter Every Day (1929)

This programme also includes Hans Richter’s Every Day (1929), a scarcely seen film which features a rare screen appearance by the great Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. The film depicts a day in the life of an increasingly industrialised and mechanised existence. Geoffrey Jones’ film Locomotion (1975), which also effectively combines human and machinic rhythms, is a masterpiece of creative editing, and it closes out this exciting programme.

The IFI & Experimental Film Club’s N or NW: Experimental Lineages within British Documentary Cinema will take place on September 25^th at 18.30. BOOK NOW.

With the 10th IFI Stranger Than Fiction Documentary Film Festival opening next week, the festival programmer, Ross Whitaker, writes about some valuable lessons that he's learnt when picking films for this year's selection.

This is my second year with IFI Stranger Than Fiction and I’m still pretty new to this film programming game and learning all the time. I’m sure there are plenty of things that I’m about to learn at this year’s Stranger Than Fiction - I’m just not sure yet what those lessons are going to be!

One thing that really stood out last year from the feedback of audiences is that quality counts over everything else. Thankfully the reaction last year was generally very positive but I remember one punter coming up to me at the end of the festival to say that she thought one film just didn’t quite hit the mark. She had loved the rest of the festival but just wanted to let me know that there was one dud in there. It was a friendly reminder that nothing gets past audiences.

The Great Hip Hop Hoax

A couple of other points were made to me. One lady told me that the programme was a little male - perhaps I was generally feeding my own male taste a little too much - and another told me that I should be keeping an eye out for more documentaries that intersected with animation in their storytelling. I’ve tried to keep both of those things in mind when it came to this year’s programme!

One thing I’ve already learned this year is to leave my preconceptions at the door when it comes to watching a film. In putting together this year’s list, there have been films that I expected to love that didn’t hit the mark in the end and there have been films that weren’t at the top of my DVD pile that really impressed me.

Aisling Gheal

I hope the filmmaker, Dónal Ó Céilleachair, won’t mind me saying that his film Aisling Gheal didn’t grab me at first. As an urban-dwelling Dubliner, films like The Great Hip Hop Hoax and Smash & Grab really jumped out at me for selection but I figured that a film about child Sean-nós singers in rural Cork was not one that I thought I would necessarily like. That was before I watched it.

When I did watch Ó Céilleachair’s film it was a big lesson for me. This deftly made observational film is utterly beguiling from beginning to end. From the encouraging teachers to the charming kids to the stunning backdrops that give an amazing sense of place, the film is a wonderful piece of work from a clearly very talented filmmaker. Having shown the film to colleagues in the IFI, I’m happy to say that I am not alone in thinking this.

The film arrived on my desk with no fanfare but we are delighted to be celebrating its first screening outside of the county of Cork and to welcome the director Dónal Ó Céilleachair along to introduce the film. It also represents the closing of a circle as Ó Céilleachair first pitched the film a few years ago at IFI Stranger Than Fiction.

Dragon Girls

A nice companion piece to Aisling Gheal is another film that shows children working hard towards a goal. Dragon Girls is set in the altogether tougher environment of China as young girls try to make it at a Kung Fu school. Filmmaker Inigo Westmeier has made a film of great beauty and we are delighted to welcome him to the festival.

Cinematographer Westmeier has applied significant visual capabilities to his directorial debut combining incredibly composed set-pieces with tender portraits of young kids. It’s a really impressive piece of work and Westmeier won the award for Best International Documentary at the prestigious Hot Docs International Documentary Festival in Toronto.

These two films really won me over and I’m sure they will audiences too.

Ross Whitaker
Festival Programmer

IFI Stranger Than Fiction Documentary Film Festival runs between September 26th and 29th, 2013. Visit our website for more details or download our Festival Brochure (PDF).

IFI Stranger Than Fiction returns to the IFI this week, and I was delighted to learn that more than half the films in this year’s impressive lineup have a female director. This news is particularly encouraging, given recent reports on the woefully low representation of women directors in fiction filmmaking and across the water in TV drama.

Salma

Clearly the ladies are not just representing themselves in the world of factual narrative but very much rising to the top of their game. This can only be good news for industry and audience – competition may be a rude motivation, but it’s always effective – and we all benefit when the best person is behind the camera.

Aisling Gheal

So what have this year’s STF audiences to look forward to? Well, quite a lot actually, thanks to some insightful programming, an exciting series of workshops and a wealth of compelling new stories from viewpoints on both sides of the gender divide. Audiences will be treated to Irish premieres of festival darlings The Great Hip Hop Hoax, Smash & Grab: The Story of the Pink Panthers, Leviathan, and Dragon Girls, as well as home grown greats Here Was Cuba, Close to Evil and Aisling Gheal.

After Tiller

After Tiller also gets its Irish premiere at STF – never more timely – as it powerfully addresses the abortion debate, albeit in America. When will someone be brave enough to back an Irish examination of this subject matter? Kim Longinotto’s Salma presents another strong feminist viewpoint – the story of a Muslim woman who writes her escape out of family servitude.

Jeanie Finlay (The Great Hip Hop Hoax)

Another interesting and practical aspect of the festival is the planned series of workshops, in particular Breaking into Documentary (FREE event) and Building an International Documentary Company. Documentary makers and film lovers alike will have the opportunity to engage with panels of internationally renowned documentary makers, including Sundance winner Havana Marking, Jeanie Finlay, as well as our own hugely talented Emer Reynolds, Andrew Freedman, Cathal Gaffney and Risteard Ó Domhnaill.

Reality Bites Documentary Shorts

Feature documentary is experiencing something of a golden age internationally, and is without doubt an area for continued growth and support here at home. The future is bright for new Irish talent (whose work can be seen in the Eat My Shorts strand), and with a diverse range of stories and voices coming to the fore, audiences have a lot to look forward to. So, whether it’s sean nós, kung fu or the Cuban Missile Crisis you’re after, get down to IFI Stranger Than Fiction and join the conversation.

Rachel Lysaght
Women in Film & Television Ireland

https://www.facebook.com/WomenInFilmAndTVIreland

A year since its debut at last year's IFI Stranger Than Fiction Documentary Film Festival, Paul Duane returns with his feature film, Very Extremely Dangerous, a tragic story of Jerry McGill, an aging rocker and the last American outlaw. So why make a film about him? Director Paul Duane explains.

Jerry McGill is too obscure to even be called a cult figure.

Only those who've read Robert Gordon's seminal It Came From Memphis or seen William Eggleston's dark, outrageous 'home movie'Stranded in Canton would have the vaguest idea who he is, or those rockabilly completists who own a copy of Sun 326, Lovestruck, recorded by Jerry and his band The Topcoats in 1959, his first and only official release. It's not even a particularly good record (the B-side is better).

So why make a film about him when there are so many other, probably more deserving musicians out there?

Well, back in mid-2009 I was facing a blank wall – my first cut of Barbaric Genius, my film on John Healy, had been rejected, all further funding placed in question & it looked as if it would never be completed.

So when I got an email from Jerry's fiancée Joyce telling me that he'd been diagnosed with lung cancer, had booked a recording session in Memphis next week, and wanted myself and Robert Gordon to meet him there, I grabbed an idea out of thin air.

The story of a man who blew all his chances the first time round, who turned his back on a promising music career in favour of a criminal life, trying to redeem himself while staring death in the eyes. I knew Jerry was charismatic and a great storyteller from my phone conversations with him, but could he carry a film? Who knew?

Out of nothing more than that idea, and Jerry's insistence that he wasn't going to go quietly into the night, that he was finally going to follow up his one and only record, myself and Robert Gordon dragged this film, kicking and screaming and fighting us every inch of the way, into existence. Was it worth it? You tell me.

Paul Duane
Film Director

Very Extremely Dangerous opens on Friday, October 18th, 2013, exclusively at the IFI. There will be a post-screening Q&A with director Paul Duane following the 20.30 screening of the film. BOOK NOW!

What is different about seeing a wide-shot Everest, the world’s highest mountain for the first time in The Epic for Everest (1923), to seeing it captured on camera today? To my untrained eye, at least, nothing observable about the mountain has changed but context here is everything. To see the mountain rear up above the cameraman as an pure unconquered frontier of our planet feels entirely different to seeing it now, knowing the mountain is strewn with commercial expeditions, egos, industrial disputes, rubbish, fixed ropes, corpses, and a ladder allowing the most difficult climbing to be bypassed.

It’s not just getting to the top and back that matters, climbers and mountaineers rigorously debate the ‘ethics’ of what they call ‘style of ascent’. That’s why the climbing community made such a fuss last week when Ueli Steck climbed the smaller (though fiercely dangerous) Himalaya mountain Annapurna. Not only had he found a new route on the South Face, he’d gone up and down unroped and alone without supplemental oxygen in one astonishing 28-hour push.

While most modern mountaineers wouldn't object to the tactics used by Mallory and Irvine on Everest, the footage of the Tibetan people that the climbers used as porters and passed through en-route to Everest certainly lacks a different kind of style. The raw Imperialist viewpoint espoused by the intertitles which seems to barely distinguish Tibetan man from baby donkey is enough to make anyone squirm, though this patronising tone gives way in parts to an irrepressible wonder at the ancient monastic civilisation the team passes through in the high valleys of the Himalayas.

One thinks of Steck again, earlier this year the victim of a horrific confrontation between the Sherpas and a group of fast and light Alpine climbers on Everest, possibly exacerbated by the Western team having apparently outgrown the need for traditional Sherpa support. The Epic of Everest shows us this mutually exploitative relationship that shaped 20^th Century Himalayan mountaineering in its very infancy.

Do we crave and seek adventure in our own lives? What level of risk do we deem acceptable in pursuing it? For most of us it would fall far, far below the risks that Mallory and Irvine knowingly and paid for with their lives. Even today Everest remains, by any scale of human activity, phenomenally dangerous and yet thousands attempt it, sometimes controversially suppressing the most basic human instincts to aid ailing climbers to avoid harm or to keep their own summit dreams alive.

We’ll probably never know if Mallory and Irvine summited Everest before falling; it seems unlikely. But The Epic of Everest is a great chance to see a real frontier of human exploration.

Patrick Stewart

IFI

The Epic Of Everest is showing, EXCLUSIVELY at the IFI, from October 18th to October 24th.

Article 4

Last Men Standing

Do we really need rom-coms this Valentine's Day?

Director Dylan Mohan Gray on his new documentary 'Fire in the Blood'

From Ireland with love...

The Neil Jordan Collection at the Irish Film Archive

Two anime classics coming to the IFI this May!

IFI's Ross Keane at Cannes 2013: Part 1

Cannes Film Festival 2013 blog (Part Two)

Cannes Film Festival 2013 blog: Part Three

Silent film no more!

Cannes Film Festival 2013 blog: Part Four

The queues continue at Cannes... Cannes Film Festival 2013 blog: Part Five

Dr. Eoin Devereux talks Moz Angeles

"You can never forget you're a dedicated film fan first" - Matt Micucci on his experience at the 70th Venice Film Festival

Article 5

When a Film Surprises You...

Stories about women and by female directors at IFI Stranger Than Fiction

Very extremely dangerous Jerry McGill

Keeping the summit dreams alive