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With a film and theatre career spanning almost forty years, Alan Gilsenan is one of Ireland’s most prolific and revered directors of drama and documentary film. This selective retrospective, which includes two of his four feature dramas, provides an introduction to the films (many made with his longtime producer Martin Mahon, through their company Yellow Asylum Films). Gilsenan’s documentary mode, which ranges from robust investigation to essayistic reverie to sensitive observation, is distinguished by intellectual rigour and creative innovation, allied to a seemingly unquenchable curiosity about history, literature, culture and society – both in Ireland but also in the wider world. His highly eclectic oeuvre of over 40 films for cinema and television also provides an invaluable compendium of reflection on Irish minds and Irish matters over four decades.
The films in this season will be introduced by Alan Gilsenan or by his filmmaking collaborators, and with Stephen Rea and composers Jim O’Rourke and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh in attendance for the Special Advance Preview screening of The Journey of Weather-Exposed Bones.
A selection of titles from the season will be available to stream across the Republic of Ireland on www.ifihome.ie
Season notes by Sunniva O’Flynn
Cinema Schedule
The Road To God Knows Where – Wednesday, April 8th (18.30) All Souls’ Day – Saturday, April 11th (15.30) Marsha Hunt: Made in America – Sunday, April 12th (16.00) Samuel Beckett’s Eh Joe – Monday, April 13th (18.30) The Asylum – Wednesday, April 15th (18.30) The Yellow Bittern: The Life and Times of Liam Clancy – Saturday, April 18th (15.00) Ó Pheann An Phiarsaigh – Sunday, April 19th (15.00) Unless – Wednesday, April 22nd (18.30) Meetings With Ivor – Saturday, April 25th (15.30) The Journey of Weather-Exposed Bones (Special Advance Preview) – Sunday, April 26th (13.30) Career Talk with Alan Gilsenan – Thursday, April 30th (18.30)
Available on IFI@Home:
The Seven Ages of Noël Browne Ghosts of Baggotonia The Irish Question Timbuktu The Meeting Meetings with Ivor The Days of Trees
Visit fihome.ie/page/gilsenan/ to view the collection.
Available on IFI International:
Ghosts of Baggotonia The Seven Ages of Noël Browne The Meeting Meetings with Ivor The Days of Trees
Visit ifiinternational.ie/page/alan-gilsenan-retrospective/ to view the collection.
Films are available to rent on both platforms for €4.99. The Alan Gilsenan: Roads to Recovery Bundle is available to rent on both IFI@Home and IFI International for €12.99 and includes The Meeting, Meetings with Ivor, and The Days of Trees. A full collection bundle is available on IFI@Home for €34.99.
AKIRA (4K RESTORATION) 20.45
AMÉLIE (25th ANNIVERSARY) 18.10
FATHER MOTHER SISTER BROTHER 16.10
IFI SPOTLIGHT 2026: THE YEAR IN REVIEW 10.30
PRIMAVERA 15.40, 18.30
REBUILDING 14.00
ROSE OF NEVADA 12.45, 20.50
THE DRAMA 18.10
THE STRANGER 13.05, 20.30
THE WIZARD OF THE KREMLIN 15.10
WILD STRAWBERRIES: PROBLEMISTA 11.00
The IFI is supported by The Arts Council
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