Bealtaine Festival 2012
FILM @
Bealtaine Festival 2012
The Bealtaine Festival 2012 will be offering a great selection of cinematic experiences across the country during May.
During the Bealtaine Film Tour An American in Paris, My House in Umbria, and Last Chance Harvey will be screened in venues around Ireland. The tour is presented by access>CINEMA and the Irish Film Institute, with support from Seven Seas Active 55, and will be launched at the IFI on May 2nd at 11am.
This event will also mark the start of a special Wild Strawberries screening programme at the IFI for Bealtaine. Little Miss Sunshine, Cinema Paradiso and a film about The Liberties will be screened as part of this programme as well, and the venue will also be host to a unique CoisCéim event with an ensemble of people aged 50+ in a riotous celebration of song and dance.
The three films selected for the Bealtaine Film Tour this year are diverse in genre and were deliberately selected to appeal to the wide tastes of older audiences. My House In Umbria, based on the novella by William Trevor, takes place after a tragic train accident. Four survivors find solace in the villa of an English writer, Mrs Delahunty, played to perfection by the wonderful Maggie Smith. As they struggle to come to terms with the disaster, an inspector tries to figure out exactly what happened. An American in Paris, directed by Vincente Minnelli and a winner of six Academy Awards, is perhaps the greatest dance musical of all time, starring Gene Kelly as a young artist who finds love on Paris’ Left Bank to a glorious Gershwin score. Last Chance Harvey, a romantic drama starring Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, focuses on two lonely people who tentatively forge a relationship over the course of three days.
As with the Film Tour, the IFI and Wild Strawberries took the Bealtaine theme, ‘What kind of old do you want to be?’ and the European year of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, as inspiration for their programme. In Cinema Paradiso a filmmaker returns to his home village for the funeral of a dear friend, local projectionist Alfredo who taught him the magic of cinema as a child. Little Miss Sunshine is a much-loved indie film telling the tale of the oddball family of a would-be child beauty queen, including Alan Arkin in an Oscar-winning performance as her addict grandfather. The Liberties is a documentary portrait of residents of Dublin’s historical heart, who range from a man running a local shop to an Oscar-winning actress. Following the screening, CoisCéim Broadreach and Dublin City Council will present Wild & Wonderful, an ensemble of 40 people aged 50+ in a riotous celebration of men and women in song and dance! Personal stories weave together in this specially created dance performance.
TIMES, DATES AND PLACES
For details of your nearest screening see www.bealtaine.com or
look out for local listings.
For more details on the Bealtaine Film Tour screenings taking place nationally:
access>CINEMA Tel: + 353 (1) 679 4420 www.accesscinema.ie
To book for events at the IFI:
IFI, 6 Eustace St., Dublin 2 Box Office Tel: + 353 (1) 679 3477 www.ifi.ie
For more information on Bealtaine:
Web: www.bealtaine.com
E-mail: Bealtaine@ageandopportunity.ie
Telephone: +353 (1) 805 7709
Post: Bealtaine at Age & Opportunity, Marino Institute of Education, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9
The Bealtaine Newspaper, giving an overview and details of all festival activities is available to pick up for free from Centra stores nationwide. Also check out Bealtaine on Facebook and Twitter – and ‘Mary’s Bealtaine blog’ on www.bealtaine.com.
Age & Opportunity wishes to acknowledge the support of the HSE and The Arts Council of Ireland.
