THIS MONTH SEES THE LAUNCH OF IRELAND ON SUNDAY, AN EXCITING NEW STRAND OF IRISH FILM PROGRAMMING AT THE IRISH FILM INSTITUTE.
This is a curated programme of recent Irish material which has not yet been released theatrically or seen outside the film festival circuit. In a regular sunday lunch time slot, audiences will have an opportunity to critically engage with directors and producers in post-screening discussions. The programme will be varied—including documentary and fictional material which has been made for cultural, theatrical and broadcast exhibition. We are pleased to launch the series with a screening of Johnny Gogan’s innovative art documentary The Adventures of Flannery: A Portrait of Cathal Coughlan. The documentary examines the life and work of the Cork-born singer, songwriter and enfant terrible who created one of the highlights of Cork’s Capital of Culture celebrations in 2005 with his musical-theatre presentation ‘Flannery’s Mounted Head’. Coughlan, who began his musical career with the band Microdisney and later formed the volatile and uncompromising Fatima Mansions, has in recent years worked in more inter-disciplinary contexts such as the Flannery project. This is the first feature-length documentary from director Johnny Gogan, whose fiction films include The Mapmaker (2002) and The Last Bus Home (1997). There will be a post-screening Q&A with director Johnny Gogan and producer Gary Sheehan.Confirmed for July’s Ireland on Sunday slot, Seaview, the documentary co-directed by Nicky Gogan and Paul Rowley which gives voice to residents of Mosney (formerly Butlins Holiday Camp) as they await results of their asylum claims.