To celebrate the release of his new film, What Richard Did, on October 5th, the IFI presents this retrospective of Lenny Abrahamson’s previous work, including a rare opportunity to see his 2007 RTÉ television series, Prosperity. Despite a relatively small body of work, Abrahamson has established himself as one of the most interesting of current Irish filmmakers, and a director of international acclaim.
October 6th – 14th
A native of Dublin, he studied philosophy at Trinity, where he co-founded the Trinity Video Company with Ed Guiney, who has gone on to produce all of Abrahamson’s work. This entry into filmmaking led to his first short, 3 Joes, which won a number of awards at European festivals. After time spent undertaking post-graduate study and directing a number of commercials, Abrahamson returned to film with his first feature Adam and Paul in 2004, followed by Garage in 2007. Despite having a timeless quality derived from a style indebted to European directors such as Robert Bresson, the Dardenne Brothers and Bruno Dumont, his films remain distinctively Irish. This spare nature is brilliantly balanced to provide audiences with just enough information to draw their own conclusions. It will be of great interest to see Abrahamson’s career develop, particularly in light of news that his next film will be a comedy starring Domhnall Gleeson and Michael Fassbender.
Update: The IFI is delighted to announce that Mendel Walzman, a short film by Lenny Abrahamson filmed in the IFI buildings in 1987 will be screened as part of this retrospective. Mendel Walzman will be shown before the screening of Garage on Sunday October 7th at 1pm.
The IFI is delighted to welcome Lenny Abrahamson for a public interview about his work on October 6th at 16.30. Hosted by Tony Tracy (Lecturer in Film, Huston School of Film and Digital Media, NUI Galway), tickets for this event are FREE but require booking so please call the IFI Box Office on 01 679 3477 or email boxoffice@irishfilm to book tickets.
Introduction by Kevin Coyne and film notes by Tony Tracy.
The IFI is supported
by The Arts Council