When: Thursday 26th October – Monday 30th October
Where: Limerick City, Ireland. Various Locations
This year’s festival will be officially opened by Mayor Sean Lynch at a reception in The Millennium Theatre, Moylish, 5.30pm Thursday 26th October. The first two feature screenings are films by the Irish Diaspora, Limerick man David Noel Bourke returns for the screening of his award-winning and critically acclaimed Bakerman. Described as a Nordic Falling Down, the tagline is “Don’t mess with a baker” after watching this, we never intend to! Writer / director Sean Hartofilis whose mother moved from Ireland to USA is thrilled to be coming to what he considers his home soil of Ireland to screen his film Covadonga, the story of a recently widowed young man.
2017 sees screenings of 9 feature films, and over 100 short films over 5 days and multiple venues in Limerick. The Live Script Read introduced in 2016 will return to Belltable with a reading of US Feature film due to be shot in Limerick in 2018 – “For the Good of the Child” focuses on the poorest of Ireland’s inhabitants in the 1950’s to 1970’s and the internment of poor children into Industrial Schools until they reached 16. Director and Writer Marina Donohue joins RHIFF from the US with lead actor and many special guests taking to the stage.
The centrepiece of each year’s festival is the Richard Harris Retrospective Screening, which this year is the Academy Award winning film Cry, the Beloved Country directed by Darrell James Roodt. Taking the coveted Sunday afternoon slot at the Belltable, director Darrell Roodt joins the Harris Family for the screening and a Q&A afterwards. Tickets on sale at the Belltable Box office in person or Phone 061 953 400 or via the Lime Tree Theatre website www.limetreetheatre.ie
Of the 3 Irish offerings Eamonn Norris’s Making It premiered at the 2017 Galway Film Fleadh, about family man, Mike McMahon, who loses his job and decides to enter a filmmaking competition to win a big cash prize.
With little talent and large ambitions, his efforts soon land him in hot water with both sides of the law and the whole thing is a massive disaster with shootouts, car chases and plenty of local Kerry characters. Eleanor McSherry described it as ” … a mad trip of twists and turns. Very enjoyable!” “… I loved it and it is totally entertaining.” We concur! Loved it too. Making It screens at 2pm on Saturday 28th at the Millennium Theatre, tickets can be booked online at www.litmt.ie or purchased at the door. Eamonn, cast and crew will attend the screening and conduct a Q&A afterwards. Do come along!
Release written and directed by Gerard Walsh (South) was filmed as part of Bankhouse Production’s FFS (Feature Film School). An ex-boxer leaves from prison after serving eight years for armed robbery. Struggling to find work he fill his days by training athis old gym. Very quickly he realises that the sport he loves has been replaced by the popularity of MMA. Finding himself alone in every aspect of his life it’s not long before Andrews past comes back to haunt him. Release screens at 5pm on Friday 27th, Millennium Theatre.
Friday 27th at 2pm in Millennium Theatre sees Urban Traffik on screen, written and directed by Jason Figgis. Urban Traffik deals with the issue of sex-trafficking in Ireland. Adam, played by actor Damien Guiden, picks up attractive strays from off the street. After having had his wicked way with them – a perk of the job, we’re told – Alex supervises as co-conspirators collect the girls from Adam’s bedsit and hold them for a couple of weeks (where “punters” are welcome to test the merchandise, so long as they don’t leave bruises) before selling them on to the International trafficking market as sex slaves. Adam’s sister, Annie, Claire Blennerhassett plays a wonderful part of the carer for her previously abusive father, now paralysed, whilst also dating her brothers boss.. does she or doesn’t she know how he makes his money? What will she do when she is informed about the job her brothers carries out for her boyfriend?
The short film program consists of 8 blocks of short films selected for RHIFF and invited screenings of “FRESH BLOOD” a horror short workshop run by Fresh Film Festival.
Visit richardharrisfilmfestival.com/
