Irish Film Institute -IFI PROUD TO AGAIN COLLABORATE IN JANUARY WITH FIRST FORTNIGHT

IFI PROUD TO AGAIN COLLABORATE IN JANUARY WITH FIRST FORTNIGHT

IFI PROUD TO AGAIN COLLABORATE IN JANUARY WITH FIRST FORTNIGHT, IRELAND’S MENTAL HEALTH ART AND CULTURE FESTIVAL

December 9th 2019: In partnership with the First Fortnight Mental Health Arts and Culture Festival 2020, the IFI is proud to present three screenings throughout the month of January. This year’s selection will include the Irish premiere of Iain Cunningham’s acclaimed documentary Irene’s Ghost, and Áine Stapleton’s stunning Horrible Creature. IFI National will also bring screenings of Irene’s Ghost to venues across the country from Tuesday 7th.

Iain Cunningham’s Irene’s Ghost follows a son’s search to find out about the mother he never knew. Cunningham was just three when his mother Irene died. His Dad never spoke about it, and the family silence around Irene meant that she was alive only in Iain’s imagination. Later in life, the birth of his own child inspired a journey to discover the truth about Irene, piecing together fragments of the past to uncover a long held family secret.

Using animation mixed with filmed footage, Irene’s Ghost explores memory and mental health to movingly rebuild a lost life. The IFI screening of the film on Saturday 4th will be followed by a discussion with radio producer Julien Clancy and journalist June Shannon, moderated by Josen McGrane, First Fortnight ambassador.

Wednesday 8th brings a screening of Áine Stapleton’s lyrical and moving Horrible Creature. In 1915, James Joyce and Nora Barnacle travelled with their young children Giorgio and Lucia to Switzerland to escape the turmoil of World War I. Lucia later trained as a dancer and performed throughout Europe. However, her career ended when, in the early 1930s, she was forced into psychiatric care and underwent treatment at various hospitals across Europe.

Horrible Creature is the second in a proposed trilogy of films about Lucia Joyce directed by dance and film artist Áine Stapleton. Filmed at locations in Switzerland where she spent time, Lucia’s own writing is interpreted by a cast of international dance artists, and conjures her world between 1915 and 1950. The film fearlessly explores her difficult family life, her unproven illness, and her undoubted talent. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the director.

Finally, back by popular demand, the IFI & First Fortnight will present a selection of specially curated family friendly shorts from around the world offering different stories of positive mental health. The selection will open with exquisite Czech animation The Kite (Pouštět draka), about a young boy and his special relationship with his grandfather.

Tickets for all other screenings are available from www.ifi.ie. For interview availability and high res images, please contact Frances Wilde at the IFI Press Office on 01-6795744 or fwilde@irishfilm.ie. For more information and to book tickets for the First Fortnight screenings, visit www.ifi.ie.

IFI is principally funded by the Arts Council.

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS

ABOUT THE IFI
The Irish Film Institute is Ireland’s national cultural institution for film. It provides audiences throughout Ireland with access to the finest independent, Irish and international cinema. It preserves and promotes Ireland’s moving image heritage through the IFI Irish Film Archive, and provides opportunities for audiences of all ages and backgrounds to learn and critically engage with film.

ABOUT IFI NATIONAL
IFI works with partners throughout Ireland to provide audiences with access to the IFI’s programmes and resources. IFI National curates special programmes from the IFI Irish Film Archives, making material from this important national resource available to a wider audience.

ABOUT FIRST FORTNIGHT
First Fortnight is an arts-based mental health charity that organises a festival every January aimed at challenging stigma.First Fortnight has become a fixture in the cultural calendar and synonymous with mental health awareness, challenging prejudice and ending stigma. First Fortnight also runs a Centre for Creative Therapies, which provides an art psychotherapy and music therapy service to adults with experience of homelessness or at risk of homelessness. First Fortnight 2020 is grant aided by HSE NOSP (National Office of Suicide Prevention), Creative Ireland, The Arts Council, Dublin City Council, and Dept. of Justice and Dept. of Foreign Affairs.

IFI CINEMAS TODAY


The IFI is supported
by The Arts Council

Arts Council of Ireland