SEPTEMBER 2023 AT THE IFI

August 28th 2023: This September, the Irish Film Institute (IFI) presents a selection of new Irish and international releases, including Ballywalter, Passages, Past Lives, and The Old Oak. From September 27th to October 1st, the IFI Documentary Festival returns with a powerful programme of long and short form non-fiction films.

From Friday 1st, Apocalypse Clown, winner of Best Irish Film at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh and following a troupe of failed clowns and an intrepid reporter as they embark on a chaotic road trip of self-discovery after a mysterious solar event plunges the world into anarchy; Melancholia, Lars von Trier’s planetary apocalyptic feature; Passages, the latest release from director Ira Sachs, which received its Irish premiere at the IFI last month; and Tokyo Story, influential director Yasujirô Ozu’s masterpiece, presented in a stunning new 4K restoration, open at the IFI.

Coming to IFI Cinemas from Thursday 7th is Celine Song’s feature debut Past Lives, which follows the shared histories of two young Koreans (played by Greta Lee and Teo Yoo) as their paths interweave across continents and timelines.

Screening from Friday 15th is Cassandro, which follows the story of Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso who rose to international stardom after creating the titular openly gay Exótico wrestler character; Dead Man’s Shoes, Shane Meadows’s revenge thriller from 2004 starring Paddy Considine; and Kōji Fukada’s Love Life, which screened as part of this year’s East Asia Film Festival Ireland.

From Friday 22nd, Ballywalter, a blackly humorous drama about the restorative power of friendship starring Patrick Kielty and Seána Kerslake; John Carney’s latest musical work, Flora and Son, starring Eve Hewson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt; and R.M.N., a moral and ethically engaged piece of work from director Cristian Mungiu, screen in IFI Cinemas. Ballywalter will preview at the IFI on Wednesday 20th, followed by a Q&A with actor Patrick Kielty.

Ultimate classic horror The Exorcist, re-released in 4K digital to mark its fiftieth anniversary, and The Old Oak, reportedly iconic filmmaker Ken Loach’s last film as director, open at the IFI from Friday 29th. The Old Oak previews at the IFI on Friday 22nd, followed by a Q&A with screenwriter Paul Laverty.

From September 27th to October 1st, the IFI Documentary Festival returns with an incredible programme of non-fiction films, both Irish and international, accompanied by a bumper array of guests for post-show Q&As that are guaranteed to stimulate discussion long after the festival ends. Titles include harrowing investigative piece Lost Boys: Belfast’s Missing Children; Aurora’s Sunrise, which explores the Armenian Genocide through the lens of a blockbuster film of the silent era; and The Graceless Age – The Ballad of John Murry, which follows the artist’s journey from near death to redemption and a new zest for life and art through his outstanding music. Tickets are on sale now on our website.

In special events, the IFI this year will participate in National Cinema Day on Saturday 2nd, a day of screenings offered in gratitude to those who have come out in such numbers to support cinemas since their reopening, and a reminder and encouragement to those who have not yet come back to celebrate the artform in a room full of people sharing the same emotions. Tickets for all screenings on the day will be €4.00.

This month’s Archive at Lunchtime programme, Ireland The Tear The Smile, presents a two-part film which attempted to provide an accurate picture of life in Ireland in 1960 to US television audiences, screening for free at lunchtimes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays in September. 

The Bigger Picture strand in September will present a screening of classic teen comedy Napoleon Dynamite on Tuesday 5th, preceded by Andrea Arnold’s short film Wasp, introduced by actor, filmmaker, and singer Maria Doyle Kennedy. September‘s Irish Focus strand presents Ballymanus, a documentary telling the story of one of the worst tragedies in modern Irish history through the words of the victims’ descendants and the memories of the few remaining survivors, screening in-cinema on Wednesday 13th, followed by a Q&A with co-director Seán Doupe. 

On Thursday 14th, the IFI is delighted to screen writer-director Sebastián Silva’s Rotting in the Sun, a meta-comedy commenting on the business of filmmaking and our self-obsessed culture, starring the director and Jordan Firstman. Have You Got it Yet? The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd, a new documentary on the reclusive Pink Floyd founding member, screens at the IFI on Saturday 16th and Monday 18th.

This month, the IFI‘s From The Vaults strand presents the rarely-screened Da, adapted from Hugh Leonard’s play of the same name and starring Martin Sheen, screening on Tuesday 19th on 35mm film. On Wednesday 20th, the IFI and aemi present the Irish premiere of Haitian-Canadian director Miryam Charles’s feature debut Cette Maison (This House), a film that has received significant accolades since its Berlinale premiere last year, including a place in Sight and Sound’s list of 50 Best Films of 2022.

This year as part of Culture Night celebrations on Friday 22nd, the IFI presents Brief Encounters: Reel Borders, a programme of short films created from a participatory filmmaking workshop in which nine border-dwellers from Donegal and Derry explored their personal stories, commissioned by The Reel Borders research project, in cooperation with the Nerve Centre in Derry.

September‘s IFI Family screening is Beauty and the Beast, the 1991 Disney animated classic from directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, to mark the hundredth anniversary of the legendary studio, screening in-cinema on Sunday 24th. Also on Sunday 24th, the Mystery Matinee offers audiences the chance to see a surprise film, new or old, for only €6.00.

On Monday 25th, the IFI is delighted to screen Pedro Almódovar’s short film Strange Way of Life, starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke, as part of a special one night only event, followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with the director. The Wild Strawberries programme, our monthly film club for over 55s, offers screenings of Frances O’Connor’s Emily on Wednesday 27th and Friday 29th. 

SCHEDULE

FROM FRIDAY 1ST
Apocalypse Clown
Melancholia
Passages
Tokyo Story 4K

SATURDAY 2ND
National Cinema Day

TUESDAY 5TH
The Bigger Picture: Napoleon Dynamite + Wasp

FROM THURSDAY 7TH
Past Lives

WEDNESDAY 13TH
Irish Focus: Ballymanus

THURSDAY 14TH
Rotting in the Sun

SATURDAY 16TH
Have You Got it Yet? The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd

MONDAY 18TH
Have You Got it Yet? The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd

TUESDAY 19TH
From The Vaults: Da

WEDNESDAY 20TH
IFI & aemi: Cette Maison
Preview: Ballywalter + Q&A

FRIDAY 22ND
Preview: The Old Oak + Q&A
IFI & Culture Night: Brief Encounters: Reel Borders

FROM FRIDAY 22ND
Ballywalter
Flora and Son
R.M.N.

SUNDAY 24TH
IFI Family: Beauty and the Beast
Mystery Matinee

MONDAY 25TH
Strange Way of Life + Q&A

WEDNESDAY 27TH
Wild Strawberries: Emily (OC)

WEDNESDAY 27TH – SUNDAY 1ST
IFI Documentary Festival

FRIDAY 29TH
Wild Strawberries: Emily

FROM FRIDAY 29TH
The Exorcist 50th Anniversary
The Old Oak

IFI is principally funded by the Arts Council.