San Francisco Irish Film Festival: Preview
San Francisco Irish Film Festival
The 9th San Francisco Irish Film Festival (28–30 September, 2012, Roxie Film Center, 3117 16th St. @ Valencia, San Francisco)
This years’s San Francisco Irish Film Festival kicks off on Friday, 28th September with Terry George’s Oscar-nominated short The Shore followed by Kirsten Sheridan’s new feature Dollhouse.
The screenings will be preceeded by the Opening Night Party at Giordano Bros, 3108 16th St, SF, from 6pm -8pm.
The weekend promises a diverse and entertaining line-up.
2012 FILMS:
Friday, 9/28 at 8:30pm – THE SHORE
Dir: Terry George
THE SHORE is the inspiring story of two boyhood best friends divided by 25 years of misunderstanding. Their world and friendship is shattered by the conflict escalating in Northern Ireland and their lives take very different paths. Twenty-five years later, Joe (Ciaran Hinds) returns home from San Francisco seeking to reconnect with his old friend. This Oscar-winning short is equal parts hilarious and poignant and is sure to leave you with a smile on your face.
Friday, 9/28 at 9:00pm – DOLLHOUSE
Dir: Kirsten Sheridan
Kirsten Sheridan is the very special guest at the San Francisco premiere of DOLLHOUSE. Sheridan’s film explores a night in the lives of a group of street teens who break into a house in an upper-class suburb. The break-in quickly moves into a night of frenzy, driven by a series of revelations that will leave lasting marks on each of them. Kirsten Sheridan, who previously directed Disco Pigs and August Rush, will join the festival after the screening for an exclusive Q & A session.
Saturday, 9/29 at 5pm – BALLYMUN LULLABY
Dir: Frank Berry
BALLYMUN LULLABY is a musical documentary that follows music teacher, Ron Cooney, on his journey to create a collection of music that gives a voice to the young people of working-class Ballymun in Dublin. Your heart will be thoroughly warmed by the inspiring Cooney and his funny and charming students.
Saturday, 9/29 at7pm – MAGNERS ‘N’ SHORTS
Sup complimentary Magners Irish Hard Cider while enjoying the best of this year’s shorts from Ireland.
Saturday, 9pm – STELLA DAYS
Dir: Thaddeus O’Sullivan
A small town cinema in rural Ireland in the 1950s becomes the setting for a dramatic struggle between Rome and Hollywood, and a man and his conscience. Martin Sheen (THE WAY, THE DEPARTED) stars as Father Daniel Berry in a story about the excitement of the unknown versus the security of the familiar, as those in the town find themselves on the cusp of the modern but still clinging to the traditions of church and a cultural identity forged in very different times.
Sunday, 9/30 at 5:00pm DEATH OF A SUPERHERO
Dir: Ian Fitzgibbon
Donald is a teenager with extraordinary artistic talents. His future as a graphic novel artist should be bright. As his life is consumed by fantastic daydreams, Donald soon discovers that a very real enemy is trying to kill him. With an unorthodox psychologist teaching Donald to find the light in life in an otherwise dark world, DEATH OF A SUPERHERO tells the story of discovering life, love, and death in this exceptionally honest portrayal of a teenage boy facing his own mortality.
Sunday, 9/30 at 7:00pm – BERNADETTE: NOTES ON A POLITICAL JOURNEY
Dir: Lelia Doolan
The story of Bernadette Devlin McAliskey’s remarkable political life is told in this inquisitive documentary. A member of the People’s Democracy movement in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s, Bernadette Devlin was elected MP for Mid-Ulster when she was 21 years-old and briefly rattled the Wilson government and the Westminster establishment. The archive footage presents her as a firebrand with a gift for public speaking, derided as ‘Castro in a miniskirt’ by one opponent. Now into her sixties, she remains just as articulate and uncompromising. Acclaimed Director, Lelia Doolan, will join the festival after the film for a Q & A session. For anyone interested in the history of Northern Ireland, this is an opportunity not to be missed.
Sunday, 9/30 at 9:00pm – PILGRIM HILL
Dir: Gerard Barrett
PILGRIM HILL captures the plight of bachelor farmers in rural Ireland, telling the tragic story of Jimmy Walshe, a middle-aged farmer who lives with his critically ill father. Life has been very tough on Jimmy over the years, but things are about to get worse, as his life hits a very rough patch on and off the farm. This moving and understated film hits themes universal enough to resonate with audiences everywhere.
