Irish Film Festival

Interested in Irish cinema? Together has an interview with Colin Farrell recently nominated for the Oscars for the award of Best Actor in its next edition. Farrell is one of 14 Irish nominees for this year’s Oscars. The Banshees of Inisherin won’t be one of the films highlighted in the programme of this year’s Irish Film Festival, but there are plenty of other films to enjoy. The film festival begins on Monday 21 March and ends on 24 March.

The Quiet Girl

Directed by Colm Bairéad and adapted from Claire Keegan’s novel Foster, The Quiet Girl is a coming-of-age drama set in 1981 which is focussed on an introverted nine year old girl, Cáit (Catherine Clinch) who is sent to stay with relatives in rural Ireland. 19:00, Tuesday 21 March.

Lyra 

In April 2019, Northern Irish investigative journalist and LGBTQ writer Lyra McKee was killed during a police raid in Derry. For many her death was a return to the dark days of the Troubles, where sectarian tensions ran high. In response to her death, Award winning filmmaker Alison Miller lovingly crafts this cinematic vigil, that honours Lyra’s life and activist spirit. This sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking documentary film uses Lyra’s own work and writings. 19:00, Wednesday 22 March. 

Wildfire

This is the directorial debut of Cathy Brady. It is a suspenseful psychological drama seething with mystery. Filmed at the border amidst the Brexit crisis, WildFire is a delicate character study that elegantly rhymes the personal with the political.

When Kelly returns from a long absence to be reunited with her sister, old ghosts are stirring up in their sleepy border town. Trying their best to reconnect, the two sisters have to navigate their own traumatic histories as well as the tensions that lay dormant in their community. 21:30, Wednesday 22 March.

Aisha 

Directed by Frank Berry, the film is about Aisha, a young Nigerian woman seeking asylum in Ireland, who is floundering in a maze of social services and bureaucracy. As her situation becomes increasingly dire, Aisha struggles to maintain hope and dignity against the looming threat of deportation. 19:00, Thursday 23 March.

Nothing Compares 

This captivating documentary by director Kathryn Ferguson dials back to a time in the late 80s and early 90s when the career of outspoken singer/ musician Sinéad O’Connor was truly global. Using a huge amount of archive material, Nothing Compares celebrates the life and work of a truly non-conformist artist that was clearly an inspiration to the director. It also addresses the negative media attention she garnered and recasts O’Connor as a hero that battled misogyny, nationalism, the Catholic church and Irish state. 21:30, Thursday 23 March.

Cyprus Avenue

Directed byRhodri Huw, Vicky Featherstone, Cyprus Avenue is about a Belfast Loyalist Eric Miller who is experiencing a psychotic episode and begins to mistake his five-week old granddaughter for Irish Republican politician, Gerry Adams. 19:00, Friday 24 March.

The organiser, Scéal Eile is committed to presenting the best of Irish cinema in Belgium. We are proud to be supported by the Irish Embassy in Belgium, Culture Ireland, the Irish Film Institute, the office of the Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels, the UK Mission to the EU, EuroCity and Solas Creative Agency.