Ireland’s largest humanitarian and development agency, Concern Worldwide in conjunction with the Light House Cinema, Smithfield, are delighted to welcome Ken Wardrop to discuss his award winning documentary, His & Hers during a Q&A session as part of the inaugural International Woman’s Day Festival on Thursday 8th March.
His & Hers was the first feature documentary for Wardrop, already a seasoned short film maker and it focuses on 70 Irish women, each on camera to tell a story of love or loss, about their fathers, boyfriends, husbands, and sons. Beautiful in its simplicity, His & Hers warmed the hearts if cinema go-ers on its release and the overall message strongly compliments the concept of International Woman’s Day.
The International Woman’s Day Film Festival is taking place to celebrate the valuable work of women around the world as International Woman’s Day highlights the progress women have made in their struggle for economic, social, cultural and political equality.
His & Hers, followed by Ken’s Q&A will conclude a day which features a substantial number of shorts and films celebrating the success of women including two additional feature length box-office hits; Oranges and Sunshine and As If I Am Not There. The jam packed schedule which begins at 4.40 pm and concludes at 11.00 pm also includes outstanding short films such as Music by Prudence and The White Dress, as well as the successful Women of Concern Photographic Exhibition.
‘We are delighted to launch the inaugural International Women’s Day Film Festival and we are excited to welcome Ken on board. His documentary his and Hers is a compassionate and inspiring look at the most important relationships in a woman’s life’ said Concern’s Liz Yeates. ‘In addition to having some remarkable and award-winning films on the schedule, we will highlight Concern’s work with women through a Women of Concern photo exhibition, talks and short films.
‘This is the beginning of an exciting date on the calendar and next year we aim to build it into a two or three-day multi-faceted multi-dimensional festival, incorporating films by female directors and guests from developing countries. We hope people will come out to support the first International Women’s Day Film Festival at the Light House cinema for what is a very strong and entertaining schedule.’
The Light House Cinema, which re-opened under the new ownership of Element Pictures on January 20th, is a unique and hugely impressive multi-screen cinema and this new annual event is set to capture the imagination of cinema-lovers and those interested in women’s issues and rights in equal measure.
Tickets are available from the Light House cinema box office at a cost of €20 for a daily ticket or €9 per feature film and 50% of the proceeds will go towards Women of Concern, supporting women’s projects in Bangladesh. Visit www.lighthousecinema.ie or call Concern on 01 417 8064 for more information on this event and on Concern’s other International Women’s Day events on March 8th.
