IFI announces plans for 1916 Centenary with ‘Appraising the Uprising’

IFI PRESS RELEASE: 18th December 2015.

The Irish Film Institute to mark 1916 Centenary with ‘Appraising the Uprising’, a broad-ranging series of film programmes at the IFI, throughout Ireland and abroad in 2016.

In  2016 the IFI will present a range of film programmes at the Institute in Temple Bar, throughout Ireland and internationally, that reflect the evolution of Ireland as an independent state since 1916. This series of curated packages will draw on contemporary and archival materials from the IFI Irish Film Archive and repatriated from overseas archives – indigenous and foreign, fictional and factual – to enhance audiences’ understanding of Ireland and the history that has shaped it, and to explore contemporary Irish society through a range of cinematic experiences.

The programme will use the events of 1916 as a point of departure from which to examine Ireland on film over the past 100 years. Fiction films will address the 1916 – ‘22 period in dramatic form, while a series of feature documentaries will provide state-of-the-nation reflections on Irish society in the decades since. The programmes will be presented in the IFI, at regional partner venues and globally, with the support of Culture Ireland, through IFI International.

Ross Keane, IFI Director, said: “The anniversary of the 1916 Rising is a time for consideration of politics, culture and nationhood from a range of cinematic perspectives. We are pleased to offer Irish and international audiences many opportunities to explore these topics by providing access to these important and rarely seen archive materials, through repatriation and exhibition, and to provide a range of contexts created by historians, archivists and other cultural commentators.”

During March, the IFI will host five key events comprising of work by John Ford, David Lean and Jack Cardiff, 1916 newsreels, ciné-concerts and a series of short films from the Irish Film Board/Bord Scannáin na hÉireann. The month-long series starts with the seminal 1926 drama, Irish Destiny accompanied by a solo performance of a score by composer Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin. It continues with John Ford’s adaptation of Sean O’Casey’s remarkable The Plough and the Stars, featuring fine performances from Barbara Stanwyck and Barry Fitzgerald and a vivid depiction of Dublin slum life. Following this will be a screening of Ryan’s Daughter (1970), David Lean’s passionate love story set against the backdrop of 1916. Both of these screenings will be preceded by an introduction from a leading Irish cultural commentator.

On Easter Sunday, at the IFI there will be a presentation of a ciné-concert featuring a programme of newsreels documenting events immediately preceding and following the Uprising in Dublin in 1916. The IFI will repatriate these newsreels from international archives, such as the Imperial War Museum, and other news agencies, and will present surviving newsreels in their original complete form with live musical accompaniment. Easter Monday will see a collaboration with RTÉ 1916 to present  free screenings of The Young Cassidy (1965), the Jack Cardiff/John Ford fictionalised biopic of Sean O’Casey; and After ’16, short films from the Irish Film Board/Bord Scannáin na hÉireann, inspired by 1916.

Throughout the same month at the Institute, the Archive at Lunchtime strand will also present free lunchtime screenings of short 1916-related films called ‘Reviewing the Revolution’. This programme will foreground material made for the 50th anniversary of the Rising in 1966: This Most Gallant Gentleman, a record of the return in 1965 of the exhumed body of Roger Casement, executed in London in 1916; The Irish Rising; An Tine Bheo; and Irland – Lieder für Träumer, Musik für Rebellen (Ireland – Songs for Dreamers, Music for Rebels).    

Nationally, the IFI will present Mise Éire, Irish Destiny, and The Plough and the Stars, at venues around the country, including Limerick, Wicklow and Galway, and will co-host a series of walking tours and film screenings connected with 1916 architecture. Events kick off with a presentation by the IFI, RTÉ and Gael Linn, of newly restored Mise Éire with live music and narration at the National Concert Hall in January; a screening of Ryan’s Daughter in University Concert Hall, Limerick in February; a presentation of Irish Destiny with a newsreel and accompanied by live music by Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin in the Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray; and a screening of The Plough and the Stars at NUI Galway and Mise Éire at University Concert Hall, Limerick, both in May. June will see the IFI collaborate with the Irish Architectural Foundation, Irish Georgian Society and Irish Architectural Archive on Capstones Shift – a multi-disciplinary programme on Post-Conflict Architecture – presenting a film programme in the IFI and co-hosting a series of walking tours and site-specific film screenings that relate to 1916 architecture. The Cinemobile will also take the Centenary programme to venues around the country throughout the year (venues to be confirmed).

Abroad, IFI International, with the support of Culture Ireland, will facilitate over 100 programmes of Irish film globally throughout 2016, including a programme of Irish emigrant silent films with live music at Cuala 2016 in New York, a major Irish cultural festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, and events in Canada, South America and throughout Europe (see schedule below). More international events will be confirmed and announced in the coming weeks.

EVENTS AT THE IFI:

March 5th: Irish Destiny + solo performance of score by composer Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin

March 12th: The Plough and the Stars

March 24th:Ryan’s Daughter  

March 27th:  Easter Sunday presentation of a ciné-concert featuring a programme of newsreels documenting events immediately preceding and following the Uprising in Dublin in 1916.

March 28th: Easter Monday presentation in collaboration with RTÉ of The Young Cassidy, with an introduction from a leading Irish cultural commentator, and After ’16 with filmmaker introductions

March 1st– 31st: Free lunchtime screenings of four programmes of short 1916-related films from the IFI Irish Film Archive:

 

Archive at Lunchtime: Reviewing the Revolution

Programme 1

This Most Gallant Gentleman

(Dept. of External Affairs/1966/10 mins/Colour.)

The Irish Rising

(George Morrisson for DFA/1966/14 mins/B&W.)

Programme 2

An Tine Bheo

(Louis Marcus/1966/40 mins/Colour.)

Programme 3

Eireville

(James Finlan/2002/24 mins/B&W.)

 

Programme 4

Irland – Lieder für Träumer, Musik für Rebellen (Ireland – Songs for Dreamers, Music for Rebels)

(Margit Wagner/1966/40 mins/B&W.)

 

NATIONAL SCHEDULE:

January 21st: Screening of Mise Éire at the National Concert Hall with live music and narration.

 

March 26^th : Screening of Ryan’s Daughter at University Concert Hall, Limerick

 

April 24th: Screening of Irish Destiny + newsreel prologue with solo performance of score by composer Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin at Mermaid Arts Centre Bray

 

May 22^nd : Screening of The Plough and the Stars with introduction by Dr. Charles Barr at NUI Galway. Screening of Mise Éire at University Concert Hall, Limerick

 

June: Capstones Shift – a multi-disciplinary programme on Post-Conflict Architecture – presented by the IFI in collaboration with Irish Architectural Foundation, Irish Georgian Society and Irish Architectural Archive

 

The Cinemobile will take the Centenary programme to venues around the country throughout the year (venues to be confirmed).

 

INTERNATIONAL SCHEDULE:

Exhibition partners who are currently confirmed in the 1916 Centenary programmes include:

 

UNITED STATES 

New York: Cuala 2016 – a programme of Irish emigrant silent films with live music

Washington: Kennedy Center – film programme as part of major Irish cultural festival

 

SOUTH AMERICA

Argentina: Major Irish film event at the National Cinema, Buenos Aires

Cuba: Irish Film Week, Havana

 

CANADA

 

Ottawa Irish Film Festival

Cinegael Montreal – monthly film series

Toronto Irish Festival – aligned with TIFF Cinematheque

Irish Association of Canada Tour – Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island

 EUROPE

Sweden: Uppsala Universitet

Germany: Shebeen Flick, Berlin

Italy: Irish Film Festa

Serbia: Belgrade Irish Film Festival

Estonia: Irish Film Week

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sarajevo Irish Week

Luxembourg: British and Irish Film Festival

AUSTRALIA

Sydney: Sydney Irish Film Festival