Irish Film Institute -JULY 2026 AT THE IFI

JULY 2026 AT THE IFI

This July, the IFI presents a fantastic selection of Irish and international film. As the only cinema in Ireland with 70mm-projection capabilities, audiences can get an unmatched experience of Christopher Nolan’s highly-anticipated, mythic action epic The Odyssey from July 17th. To celebrate its release, audiences can also enjoy our Odysseys season July 1st to 29th. This companion programme of cinematic journeys, traces the towering influence Homer’s work and its themes of traveling, exile, homecoming, and survival on cinema.

The month also sees the IFI host a number of festivals, from the second edition of Untold Ukraine (July 2nd to 5th), offering stories of Ukrainian cultural resistance and identity, to two programmes of dance films as part of Irish Modern Dance Theatre’s Dancer From The Dance Festival, to the return of GAZE International LGBTQIA Film Festival from July 29th to August 3rd. In the run up to IFI Family Festival (August 21st – 23rd), Best of Fest – A Programme of Family Short Films brings some of our favourite shorts from previous editions back for round two, more details below.

Audiences can also look forward to some incredible Q&A screenings, such as director Kunao Yan joining for our EAFFI Discoveries screening of Jet Lag in Summer(July 11th), a special advance screening of ecological documentary An Irish Atlantic Rainforest (July 23rd) with director Gary Lennon and the film’s subject Eoghan Daltun, and star Barry Ward joining us for the opening night screening of Helen Walsh’s tender and emotionally resonant drama On The Sea (July 24th). We’re also proud to present a special From The Vault’s screening of David Keating’s classic The Last of the High Kings, in a new digital restoration by the IFI Irish Film Archive for IFI’s Digital Restoration Project funded by Screen Ireland/Fís Éireann, with Keating joining to introduce (July 13th).

And if that wasn’t all, we have a fantastic lineup of new releases, with romantic and revolutionary doc Birds of War, Olivia Wilde’s The Invite and Karim Aïnouz’s Rosebush Pruning both offering incredible all-star casts; Francesco Sossai’s The Last One For The Road offering a wistful portrait of a rapidly changing Italy; and two spectacular 4k restorations of Andrei Tarkovsky’s work with Nostalgia and The Sacrifice returning to our screens.

If you’re not able to venture to our cinema screens, cinephiles nationwide can explore a host of incredible Irish and world cinema from the comfort of the couch on IFI@Home, anywhere in the Republic of Ireland.

Tickets for new releases and special events are on sale from the IFI Box Office on (01) 679 5744 and from ifi.ie, as per the IFI’s Weekly Schedule. Online rentals from IFI@Home are available at ifihome.ie.

July Programme Highlights

IFI Seasons

Wednesday 1st – Wednesday 29th

This July, join us for Odysseys, a season of cinematic journeys. The season accompanies the release of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, foregrounding the enduring influence of Homer’s epic poem.

The season opens with a special Bigger Picture screening of Franco Piavoli’s rarely seen Nostos: The Return (Wednesday 1st), introduced by Helen Meany, Festival Director of Classics Now. Films include the Coen Brothers’ playful retelling O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Sunday 5th), Monte Hellman’s cult road movie Two-Lane Blacktop (Tuesday 7th), Werner Herzog’s feverish classic Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Saturday 11th), Francis Ford Coppola’s landmark war epic Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut (Sunday 12th), and  Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja haunting sci-fi Aniara (Wednesday 15th). Themes of homecoming resonate through Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas (Saturday 18th), Andrey Zvyagintsev’s The Return (Sunday 19th), and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s A Very Long Engagement (Monday 20th), before the season concludes with the post-war reflections of William Wyler’sThe Best Years of Our Lives (Saturday 25th), Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter (Sunday 26th), and John Ford’s The Searchers (Wednesday 29th).

Full programme and ticket information can be found on ifi.ie/odysseys. Multi-film passes available for IFI Members & Friends at IFI Box Office. Tickets redeemable for IFI 25 & Under cardholders.

IFI Festivals

Thursday 2nd – Sunday 5th 

Untold Ukraine: Voices of Resistance is the second edition of the Untold Ukraine Film Festival. Taking place this July, with four films exploring one of Ukraine’s most powerful forms of resistance: the preservation of culture and identity through storytelling. From teenagers coming of age in Kyiv and reflections on school life in Ukraine amid wartime realities, to a documentary about a beloved cultural icon whose songs continue to inspire generations, and the story of an unlikely dreamer searching for connection at the edge of the universe, these films offer a glimpse into the contemporary realities of Ukrainians beyond the headlines. More than stories of survival, these are stories of cultural resistance.

Full programme and ticket information can be found on ifi.ie/untold-ukraine-voices-of-resistance. Multi-film passes available for IFI Members & Friends at IFI Box Office. Tickets redeemable for IFI 25 & Under cardholders.

Monday 6th & Wednesday 8th

In collaboration with the Irish Modern Dance Theatre (IMDT), the IFI presents two programmes of new Irish dance films as part of the Dancer From The Dance Festival of Irish Choreography. New Irish Dance Shorts (Monday 6th) is the first programme curated by John Scott (IMDT), gathering films by and about Irish and Irish-identifying choreographers from a range of practices, ethnicities, and generations. To This I Belong (Wednesday 8th), is the second programme commissioned by Ireland’s new national and all-island dance company Luail, consists of site-specific works rooted in land, memory, and belonging, and will be followed by a Q&A with Nicky Larkin, hosted by John Scott (IMDT).

Tuesday 29th – Monday, August 3rd 

The GAZE International LGBTQIA Film Festival returns at the end of the month with contemporary queer films bursting with energy, anger, and passion. Festival screenings at the IFI include: the gloriously chaotic Stop! That! Train! (Wednesday 29th), Adam Shankman’s camp comedy featuring an all-star lineup of drag royalty and celebrity cameos in a riotous celebration of unapologetic queer goofery; an urgent and heartfelt selection of New Irish Shorts (Friday 31st); Kai Stänicke’s evocative German period drama Trial of Hein (Saturday, August 1st); David Pablos’s taut, sexy Mexican thriller On The Road, winner of the Queer Lion at Venice; the captivating Joy Boy: A Tribute To Julius Eastman, in collaboration with aemi, which sees six filmmakers pay tribute to the transcendent music, queer activism, and vibrant spirituality of African American composer Julius Eastman (Sunday, August 2nd); Give Me The Ball!,  Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff’s inspiring documentary on tennis icon Billie Jean King (Sunday, August 2nd); and the festival’s closing film Jaripeo, Rebecca Zweig and Efraín Mojica’s intimate documentary exploring queer identity, masculinity, and desire beneath the surface of rural Mexico’s rodeo culture (Monday, August 3rd).

IFI Special Events

Wednesday 8th – Thursday 30th

As part of IFI Family, we’re screening My Father’s Dragon, in collaboration with the exhibition about the film at The Ark. A beautiful animation from Cartoon Saloon, directed by Nora Twomey, it tells the story of Elmer, a young boy who learns from a talking cat that a dragon on Wild Island might solve their problems. Tickets are just €7.00, with a Family of 4 ticket available for €23.00.

Saturday 11th

For our July edition of EAFFI Discoveries, we’re delighted to be screening Jet Lag in Summer, with director Kunao Yan joining for a Q&A with Marie-Pierre Richard, EAFFI Programme Coordinator and Co-Organiser. During the summer, a young Chinese couple strive to build a new life after finishing their studies, only to be separated by a pandemic travel ban. Join us for this melancholic portrait of love and identity, and a tender reflection on migration for a generation caught between two worlds.

Monday 13th

For our July edition of From The Vaults, we’re proud to present David Keating’s The Last of the High Kings in a new digital restoration by the IFI Irish Film Archive for IFI’s Digital Restoration Project funded by Screen Ireland/Fís Éireann, with Keating joining to introduce. Set in 1977, celebrate the 30th anniversary of this classic evocation of a Thin-Lizzy infused summer in Howth. Starring Jared Leto, Emily Mortimer, Lorraine Pilkington, Catherine O’Hara, Gabriel Byrne, and Christina Ricci.

Tuesday 21st

For July‘s Irish Focus screening, join us for Value for Many, two films on architecture. Commissioned by the Office of Public Works, and presented with the Irish Architecture Foundation (IAF) and IFI, the screenings will be followed by a conversation led by Emmett Scanlon, IAF Director.

Thursday 23rd

We’re looking forward to hosting a special advance screening of An Irish Atlantic Rainforest followed by a Q&A with director Gary Lennon and Eoghan Daltun, the leading climate activist and subject of the documentary. A striking and inspirational insight into Daltun’s campaign to save native Irish rainforests in the face of climate change and political influence, with the magic of the Beara Peninsula in West Cork at its heart. The film opens Friday 24th.

Sunday 26th

In the run-up to this year’s IFI Family Festival (August 21st – 23rd), Best of Fest – A Programme of Family Short Filmsoffers some of our favourite short films from previous editions of the festival. Audiences can join us for some fun films, cute crafts in IFI foyer, and will be in with a chance to win a Family Pass for the IFI Family Festival 2026. Tickets are just €7.00, with a Family of 4 ticket available for €23.00.

Also on Sunday 26th, the Mystery Matinee returns! Let us take the hassle out of choosing the movie and prepare to enjoy a surprise film. Will it be a brand-new release hot off the presses, or a forgotten cult classic that you missed on the big screen? One thing’s for sure, it will always be a brilliant and unexpected piece of quality cinema, with tickets costing just €6.50 for IFI Members, and €7.00 for non-members.

Wednesday 29th & Friday 31st

Wild Strawberries, our monthly film club for over 55s, presents heartwarming indie gem The Ballad of Wallis Island. The multitalented Tim Key plays the widowed and grieving Charles, a Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden) superfan and millionaire, who invites the singer to play solo for him on the remote Wallis Island, along with McGwyer’s former singing partner (Carey Mulligan).

Tickets are just €5.50 for IFI Members and €6.00 for non-members, and include a free tea or coffee!

Irish & International Film Releases

From Friday 3rd
Birds of War
The Invite

From Friday 10th
The Last One For The Road
Rosebush Pruning

From Friday 17th
The Odyssey (70mm)

From Friday 24th
An Irish Atlantic Rainforest
Nostalgia (On IFI@Home from Friday, 31st)
On The Sea (Opening Night Q&A with Barry Ward)

From Friday 31st
The Sacrifice (On IFI@Home from Friday, August 7th)

IFI is principally funded by the Arts Council.

IFI CINEMAS TODAY


The IFI is supported
by The Arts Council

Arts Council of Ireland