Irish Film Institute -RENOWNED DIRECTOR ABEL FERRARA VISITS THE IFI IN JANUARY FOR A SCREENING OF TOMMASO

RENOWNED DIRECTOR ABEL FERRARA VISITS THE IFI IN JANUARY FOR A SCREENING OF TOMMASO

December 16th 2019: Abel Ferrara, the director of cult classics including Bad Lieutenant, King of New York and The Funeral, will visit the Irish Film Institute (IFI) on Wednesday, January 22nd for a Q&A following the Irish premiere screening of his new film Tommaso. The event is presented in association with the Silk Road International Film Festival 2020, and tickets costing €16 are now on sale from www.ifi.ie/tommaso.

Tommaso (Willem Dafoe), an American artist living in Rome, and Nikki’s (Cristina Chiriac) marriage is in turmoil and he must come to terms with his wife’s desire to change the rules of their relationship. This change between them is set against Tommaso’s simple day-to-day life in Rome; as a student taking Italian classes, as a teacher working with young acting students, and most importantly his relationship and the pure love he feels for his three-year-old daughter and she for him.

The drama builds from this idea of reality and imagination, and resolves in the discovery of what he and Nikki really want, need from and are capable of giving each other and their family. Following its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Little White Lies called the film ‘intimate, accepting and redemptive’ with an ‘incredible’ central performance from Dafoe. Actor Harry Mcrory who plays Danny in the film will also attend the screening.

Born in the Bronx in 1951, Abel Ferrara started on Super 8 in his teens in upstate New York with writers Nicholas St. John and John McIntyre. His first features were Driller Killer and Ms. 45 in the late 1970s. The 1980s and 1990s led to his cult reputation with legendary films like King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, The Addiction and The Funeral. Ferrara has just completed the principal photography of his next feature Siberia, also starring Willem Dafoe.

For further information, high-res images and interview availability, please contact Stephen Boylan at the IFI Press Office – sboylan@irishfilm.ie or (01) 6795744. For more information on the Silk Road International Film Festival, visit silkroadfilmfestival.com/.

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 THE SILK ROAD INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Silk Road International Film Festival (SRIFF) is held annually across the city of Dublin. SRIFF is fast becoming an acclaimed international film festival. Past guests have included world renowned filmmakers such as director Béla Tarr (The Turin Horse, Satantango), cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (Reds, Apocalypse Now, The Last Emperor) and cinematographer Mahmoud Kalari (A Separation).

SRIFF screens an exclusive array of world cinema showcasing a rich diversity of features, documentaries, shorts and student films. As well as screening international films there is a special selection of films from the “Silk Road”, countries part of the historical network of the Silk Road ancient trade routes. The selection called “Belt & Road” includes Asian, Arab, Middle Eastern, African, Mediterranean and European cinema in collaboration with the Belt & Road Film Festival Alliance founded at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

SRIFF’s mission is to celebrate excellence in screen-based storytelling, promote cinema of the world and Belt & Road, facilitate international contacts between filmmakers, narrow distances between people & cultures, and break boundaries and foster cross-cultural collaboration and social change.

IFI CINEMAS TODAY


The IFI is supported
by The Arts Council

Arts Council of Ireland