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See details of our current seasons below.
While there are a handful of epics that predate Homer’s poem, itself written almost three millennia ago, it is considered the oldest example in European literature of a story in which a hero is forced to overcome many travails across their peregrinations before gratefully, finally arriving home. The influence of its structure and content has endured to the present day in a diverse range of work, from Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings to television’s Battlestar Galactica and of course, James Joyce’s Ulysses. The Odyssey has also proved fertile ground for filmmakers, the scope and scale of the story inspiring any number of road movies and depictions of the impact of prolonged absence not just on those who leave, but on those who remain. This season of films touches upon some of the many facets of Homer’s incredibly rich work, from its portrayal of a weary traveller’s desire for home and family to the impact of violence on the psyche of a soldier. There is also room for retellings, whether in the Coen Brothers’ playful update or Franco Piavoli’s rarely screened version. All of these films stand as testament to the legacy of a writer about whom little is known, but whose work has endured across thousands of years to become part of the DNA of storytelling. Season notes by Kevin Coyne. _ The season accompanies the IFI’s exclusive 70mm presentation of Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated The Odyssey, tracing the many ways in which the core themes of journey, exile, homecoming, and survival continue to resonate throughout cinema. NOW BOOKING Book now for cinema screenings via https://ifi.ie/odysseys/ or via IFI Box Office in-person or over the phone via 01 679 5744. Season bundles are available for IFI Members only:
Margit Wagner first visited Ireland in 1953, the same year she broadcast her first radio feature on the country and a year before the first visit of Heinrich Böll, author of Irisches Tagebuch (Irish Journal, 1957) and screenwriter of Irland und seine Kinder (Children of Éire). Böll’s work is widely recognised, but though Wagner made more than ten film and radio programmes on Ireland, her contribution, until now, has largely been overlooked. Wagner played a remarkable role in shaping German perceptions of Ireland. Her films, produced between the late 1950s and the 1970s, were highly acclaimed. One Irish reviewer praised her for “filming wonderful things to which we are blind”, while another observed that her love for Ireland inspired “hundreds, thousands, perhaps even millions” of Germans to share her admiration. In recognition of her work, the National University of Ireland awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1980. For many years Wagner’s films were largely inaccessible in Ireland. It is time to rediscover this pioneering filmmaker and reassess her lasting contribution to Irish-German cultural relations. A shortened form of Rediscovering Margit Wagner will be presented at the Belltable Arts Centre on November 4th in collaboration with the University of Limerick Centre for Irish-German Studies, marking the official pairing of Limerick with Germany for the Irish EU Presidency 2026. Introductory note by Prof Gisela Holfter Individual film notes by Sunniva O’Flynn
A PRIVATE LIFE 15.30
AN IRISH ATLANTIC RAINFOREST 13.20, 20.55
ARCHIVE AT LUNCHTIME: CONCRETE PROOF (PROGRAMME 2) 12.30
NOSTALGHIA (4K RESTORATION) 15.20, 20.40
ON THE SEA 12.50, 18.10 (Q&A)
THE INVITE 18.20
THE ODYSSEY 12.10, 16.00, 19.50
The IFI is supported by The Arts Council
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