The Audi Dublin International Film Festival launched their 14th programme today, featuring over 80 films from 27 countries, that will welcome over 40 guests to Dublin.
Book ended by highly anticipated Irish films, the Festival will open on Thursday 18th February with the European premiere of Sing Street, attended by director John Carney and cast members Jack Reynor, Ferdia Walsh Peelo and Lucy Boynton, and closes with director Paddy Breathnach’s Viva.
The festival will also see the Irish premieres of Rebecca Daly’s Mammal, Declan Recks’ The Truth Commissioner and debut features Staid and Traders starring Killian Scott. Among this year’s documentaries are Johnny Gogan’s Hubert Butler: Witness to the Future; Atlantic from the makers of The Pipe; an exploration of Irish poetry Fís na Fuiseoige; the story of Irish missionary ‘deserters’ The Judas Iscariot Lunch and Reel Art documentaries Further Beyond and We Are Moving – Memories of Miss Moriarty.
The Festival continues to champion Irish filmmakers with the Discovery Award, which seeks to encourage new and emerging talent by selecting 15 filmmakers from actors to directors, producers and writers to profile and support.
Humanitarian and screen icon Richard Gere will attend the Arnotts Gala screening of Time Out of Mind, joining a host of stellar guests including legendary acting talents Dame Angela Lansbury and Claudia Cardinale who will attend the Italian Gala with Peroni Nastro Azzurro, alongside acclaimed directors Rebecca Miller with her comedy Maggie’s Plan, Ben Wheatley with his JG Ballard adaptation High Rise, Joachim Trier with Louder than Bombs and Neil Jordan for the 20th anniversary celebration of Michael Collins.
The Festival also announced a brand new Fantastic Flicks season of family films, featuring classics such as Beauty and the Beast, exciting studio animations Kung Fu Panda 3 and Zootropolis; the hilarious live action Antboy films from Denmark; Norwegian drama Brothersand Simon Fitzmaurice’s life-affirming My Name is Emily.
ADIFF will showcase an array of international award winning cinema, including Golden Globe winner Mustang, Cannes Grand Prix winner Son of Saul, London Film Festival Best Film winner Desierto, Berlin International Film Festival Best Feature winner Nasty Baby andMiguel Gomes’ multi award winning Arabian Nights trilogy. In addition audiences are in for a treat with a raft of Irish premieres of hugely anticipated films like the Coen brothers’ Hail Caesar!, Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa, Toronto International Film Festival opener Demolition,Jaco Van Dormael’s hilarious Brand New Testament and the soon to be cult crime/horror Green Room.
The marriage of film and music runs throughout the Festival, from Miles Ahead, the documentary celebrating the legendary Miles Davis to Agnieszka Smoczynska’s genre defying ‘musical horror’ The Lure. There are also a number of special events which put music for film centre stage: Oscar winning composer Jan A. P. Kaczmarek presents a seminar on Composing for Film while film preservationist Serge Bromberg returns to the Festival with a new live music score to accompany a screening of the works of Buster Keaton.
There are new films from around the world and filmmakers comingto Dublin to discuss their work. This year Romania is represented with guests director Tudor Giurgiu in Dublin with his legal thriller Why Me and Lucile Hadžihalilovic with her Évolution; Margarethe Von Trotta’s meditation on sisterhood The Misplaced World, Cannes un Certain Regard winner Disorder and Michal Rogalski to discuss his coming-of-age drama Summer Solstice.
Special events throughout the Festival include industry masterclasses, seminars on wide ranging topics from scriptwriting to adapting texts, capturing history on film to festival programming.
The Festival has a very special outreach programme, Dublin Here, Dublin There, that will see the Festival short film programme screened in towns and villages in the US that share the name Dublin.
Audi Dublin International Film Festival will celebrate Stills photography with a fascinating exhibition by Festival photographer Pat Redmond in the beautiful setting of the Irish Georgian Society. Pat Redmond, 25 Years is a captivating gallery of the many world-class filmmakers who have attended the Festival. There will also be a #SetLife exhibition in The Light House Cinema, illuminating images of the inner workings and special moments that happen behind the camera.
