The 10 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival kicks off this evening with the Irish premiere of Cloudburst, directed by Thom Fitzgerald and starring one of Ireland’s best loved actresses Brenda Fricker. Running from the 16th – 26th Feb, Dublin will play host to an outstanding range of film talent during the festival, including Mark Wahlberg in for Contraband, Al Pacino with Wilde Salomé, Glenn Close with Albert Nobbs, Martin Sheen attending the screening of Stella Days and Michael Madsen with the Jameson Cult Film Club screening of Reservoir Dogs.
Commenting on the film, Festival Director Gráinne Humphreys said: ‘Our 2012 opening film Cloudburst is by turns bittersweet and bawdy. Established Canadian filmmaker Thom Fitzgerald’s latest film will break your heart, with lead performances by Olympia Dukakis and our own Brenda Fricker, it is as beguiling as its lovely title suggests.’
The 10th anniversary is a landmark for the festival, which, since 2003 has screened over 1,137 films from the four corners of the globe, with shorts, features, documenaries and special events all combining to create an amazing 11-day celebration of cinema. Festival highlights for Friday 17th February include the World Premiere of Saving The Titanic, Maurice Sweeney’s retelling of the last few hours of that fateful ship and the actions of the men below desk that saved many lives, as well as Whit Stillman’s (Metropolitan, Barcelona) highly anticipated Damsels in Distress.
‘2012 is going to be a very special year for Jameson and film – not only is it the 10th anniversary of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival but we are delighted to have renewed this partnership for another three years,” commented Anna Malmhake, CEO and Chairman of Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard. We have such a fantastic guest list this year with Al Pacino, Glenn Close and Mark Wahlberg coming to the festival but I’m especially delighted that Michael Madsen is joining us for the Jameson Cult Film Club screening of Reservoir Dogs. It has proved to be a hugely popular event since its launch at last year’s Festival and further strengthens Jameson’s association with film.’
Cloudburst synopsis
Cloudburst is a romantic comedy road movie starring Oscar®-winning actresses Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker as Stella and Dot, an aging couple who escape from a nursing home in Maine and drive to Nova Scotia on a quest to be legally married. While on the lam, they pick up a young hitchhiker, Prentice, played by newcomer Ryan Doucette. The road is long and rough, and stubborn Stella begins to wonder if she can really take care of frail Dotty in their old age. After 31 years, can they keep their family together?
Jameson Dublin International Film Festival – 16th – 26th February 2012
Established in 2003, The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival has fast become Ireland’s premiere feature film festival and lights up Ireland’s capital city over the course of eleven days and nights each February. An acclaimed and popular showcase of world cinema, the Festival is dedicated to presenting and supporting the very best in Irish and international film, showcasing over 130 feature films from across the four corners of the globe, alongside shorts and special festival events.
The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival would like to thank its funders and sponsors: Jameson, The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board, Fáilte Ireland, Cineworld, Renault, The Merrion Hotel, RTÉ Radio 1, Windmill Lane, Wells Cargo, The Irish Times: The Ticket, Entertainment.ie, Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and Dublin City Council.
JAMESON DUBLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, TICKET OFFICES:
Opening Hours: 10am – 7pm (16 – 26 February)
