ifi november programme

NOVEMBER 2014

THE IMITATION GAME

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THE IRISHFILM INSTITUTE

EXHIBITPRESERVEEDUCATE

The Irish Film Institute is Ireland’s national cultural institution for film. It aims to exhibit the finest in independent, Irish and international cinema, preserve Ireland’s moving image heritage at the IFI Irish Film Archive, and encourage engagement with film through its various educational programmes.

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Join us for a special edition of The Critical Take on November 24th (18.30) when our panel will discuss Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner (from Nov 1st), Andy Goddard’s depiction of Dylan Thomas’ tour to America in Set Fire to the Stars (opens Nov 14th) and the compelling story of Alan Turing in The Imitation Game (opens Nov 14th). This event will look at how these three films conform to and deviate from standard biopic conventions. Free but ticketed.

The IFI’s flagship festival, the Carte Noire IFI French Film Festival, returns for its 15th edition from November 19th to 30th bringing you premieres of the very best of French cinema along with masterclasses and Q&As. This year we’re delighted to welcome actor Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Quantum of Solace) amongst our many special guests. See www.ifi.ie/frenchfest for full details and to book.

Think you can be the general knowledge champion and beat the IFI Café Bar Regulars? Then why not come along to our Free Pub Quiz and put your skills to the test this November 5th at 21.30 in the IFI Café Bar. Grab a drink and some bar snacks to keep you going while testing your general knowledge and competing for prizes and IFI glory! No registration necessary, simply show up on the night with your team or on your own and let’s have some fun!

FREE PUB QUIZ

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FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL

With our monthly film screenings and the Carte Noire IFI French Film Festival, the IFI is dedicated to showcasing what’s best in French cinema throughout the year. The French Film Club screening of The Blue Room (La Chambre bleue) on November 24th at 18.30 will be introduced by teacher and film blogger James Dempsey. Tickets €7 for IFI and Alliance Française members.

FRENCH FILM CLUBTHE CRITICAL TAKE

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DIRECTOR’S NOTE

NOVEMBERAT THE IFI

It’s gearing up to be a busy November as the IFI presents some of the most anticipated new releases of the year alongside celebrations of French and Polish film.

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This month the Carte Noire IFI French Film Festival makes its welcome return with a programme featuring the finest French cinema and providing the first opportunity for Irish audiences to see many of the award winners from Cannes, Berlin and Toronto. The programme features 23 Irish premieres and includes features from Festival regulars (including directors Jean-Luc Godard, Bruno Dumont and Benoît Jacquot) and emerging directors, and the screen will be lit up by the greats including Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Charlotte Gainsbourg and last year’s Festival guest, Emmanuelle Devos.

One of the most exciting aspects of this year’s Festival is our list of special guests which includes directors Pascale Ferran (Bird People) and Cécile Telerman (The Yellow Eyes of the Crocodiles), and film writer and historian Antoine de Baecque. We are also delighted to welcome the star of the IFI’s most popular and successful film in its 22-year history in Temple Bar (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Mathieu Amalric, who features in three of this year’s films, in addition to directing the captivating The Blue Room.

As always we would like to thank the Arts Council who support everything that we do at the IFI, and I would also like to pay special thanks to the French Embassy in Ireland for their continued support of this Festival, and all of our sponsors and supporters who make it all possible, including this year’s returning title sponsor, Carte Noire.

Not content with a focus on French cinema, November also sees the return of Kinopolis, Dublin’s Polish Film Festival, for its 9th edition, which boasts its most varied programme to date presenting features, documentary and animation.

There are also plenty of great new releases this month including the Palme d’Or winner at Cannes, Winter Sleep,

from the director of the magnificent Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Nuri Bilge Ceylan. We’ll also be exclusively showing Donal Foreman’s award-winning Out of Here which has been hotly anticipated since the Galway Film Fleadh in 2013; and The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the biopic about the brilliant mathematician Alan Turing, charged with the job of cracking Nazi codes during World War II. There’s even more French cinema on offer with our IFI Classics presentation of Jacques Tati’s wildly ambitious Playtime providing a rare opportunity for Irish audiences to see this extraordinary cinematic delight.

As always, our activities are not limited to Dublin and Temple Bar. This month we have an exciting slate of programming from IFI National on offer around the country. We are particularly pleased to present the most recent outcome of our ongoing collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art in New York through a special presentation as part of Cork Film Festival. Irene (1926) is a delightful Irish emigrant rom-com starring silent screen darling Colleen Moore and Cork-born Kate Price, and this new restoration will be presented with piano accompaniment by Morgan Cooke. Later in November, we take our Local Films for Local People project further south with Kerry Kaleidoscope which will be presented in Kenmare and Waterville. The programme includes travelogues from the 1930s, newsreels from the 1960s, and the recently re-discovered gem Bally Cashel Ferry directed by Richard Bigham.

So come in out of the cold this November and immerse yourself in some of this year’s finest cinema.

Ross KeaneDirector

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NEW RELEASES & IFI CLASSICS

SEASONS & EVENTS CALENDARDATE SCREENING TIME

2ND SUN

IRELAND ON SUNDAY: Ó CHÚIL AODHA GO HOILEÁN Í

13.00

4TH TUE

IFI EVENING COURSE: AFTER LUCIA 18.30

5TH WED

FROM THE VAULTS: THE PURPLE TAXI IFI CAFÉ BAR: PUB QUIZ (FREE EVENT)

18.30 21.30

6TH THU

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: OF MICE AND MEN (ENCORE PRESENTATION) IFI & KINOPOLIS: THE WORD

19.15

18.30

7TH FRI

IFI & KINOPOLIS: PAPUSZA 18.10

8TH SAT

IFI & KINOPOLIS: JACK STRONG 16.00

9TH SUN

IFI & KINOPOLIS: ANIMATION PROGRAMME IFI & KINOPOLIS: DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMME + GUEST IFI & KINOPOLIS: THE MIGHTY ANGEL

12.00 13.2018.00

10TH MON

DIRECTOR IN FOCUS: DONAL FOREMAN 18.30

11TH TUE

IFI EVENING COURSE: LA ANTENA 18.30

12TH WED

FEAST YOUR EYES: HANNAH AND HER SISTERS 18.30

13TH THU

SET FIRE TO THE STARS PREVIEW + CELYN JONES Q&A

18.30

18TH TUE

AFTERNOON TALK: GETTING YOUR SCRIPT OUT THERE AND READ!

16.30

19TH -30TH

CARTE NOIRE IFI FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL (SEE SEPARATE PROGRAMME FOR MORE DETAILS)

24TH MON

THE CRITICAL TAKE: FREE FILM CLUB IFI FRENCH FILM CLUB: THE BLUE ROOM (LA CHAMBRE BLEUE)

18.30 18.30

26TH WED

WILD STRAWBERRIES: PHILOMENA 11.00

27TH THU

SPECIAL EVENT: INEZ – A CHALLENGING WOMAN

16.00

28TH FRI

WILD STRAWBERRIES: PHILOMENATHE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS + EDWYN COLLINS AND GRACE MAXWELL Q&A

11.0018.30

30TH SUN

IFI FAMILY: MINUSCULE: VALLEY OF THE LOST ANTS

11.00

For a breakdown of times and dates of IFI New Releases & IFI Classics, check out our weekly schedule on www.ifi.ie or the IFI ads in The Irish Times on Fridays and Saturdays. You can also sign up to receive our weekly ezine by emailing [email protected]

Scan the QR code to take you straight to the IFI homepage on your smart phone.

TIMES

THE GUARANTEE FROM NOV 1STINVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS FROM NOV 1STMR. TURNER FROM NOV 1STONE MILLION DUBLINERS FROM NOV 1STLEVIATHAN OPENS NOV 7THOUT OF HERE OPENS NOV 7THPLAYTIME OPENS NOV 7THSACRO GRA OPENS NOV 7THTHE IMITATION GAME OPENS NOV 14THSET FIRE TO THE STARS OPENS NOV 14THMARY IS HAPPY, MARY IS HAPPY OPENS NOV 21ST WINTER SLEEP OPENS NOV 21ST2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY OPENS NOV 28THI AM ALI OPENS NOV 28THTHE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS OPENS NOV 28TH STATIONS OF THE CROSS OPENS NOV 28TH

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FROM NOV 1ST One of the most evergreen of science-fiction films, Invasion of the Body Snatchers has been remade by Philip Kaufman (1978), Abel Ferrara (1993), and Oliver Hirschbiegel (2007). While there are merits to the adaptations of Jack Finney’s novel produced by Kaufman and Ferrara, and Hirschbiegel’s take is best forgotten, it is Don Siegel’s masterful allegory for Cold War paranoia and the rise of McCarthyism in the U.S. that has proved the most enduring.

In the town of Santa Mira, Doctor Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) is confronted with patients claiming that family members have been replaced by imposters. Initially dismissing these concerns as mass hysteria, Bennell comes to believe something more sinister is happening than the townsfolk had ever imagined – ‘pod people’ from outer space have begun their invasion of the Earth.

EXCLUSIVELY AT IFI†

IFI CLASSIC

FILM INFO:80 minutes, U.S.A., 1956, Black and White, D-Cinema Notes by Kevin Coyne

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

NOVEMBER 2014NEW RELEASES & IFI CLASSICS

FROM NOV 1ST On the night of September 29th, 2008, the Irish government decided to guarantee the entire domestic banking system. That decision was made by a handful of men in a room in the middle of the night. By the time the costs can be fully counted, in another 30 years or so, it will have cost over €60 billion – the most expensive bank rescue in history.

The Guarantee tells the story of that night, and what led to it. Starting four

years earlier, it charts the peak of the boom and the beginning of the bust.

Based on Colin Murphy’s stage play and directed by Ian Power (The Runway), The Guarantee features an ensemble cast of Gary Lydon, David Murray, Peter Coonan, Orla Fitzgerald and Morgan C. Jones, who all play dual roles.

FILM INFO:90 minutes, Ireland, 2014, Colour, D-CinemaNotes from Wild Card Distribution

THE GUARANTEE

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FROM NOV 1ST Never has journeying into the world of Ireland’s dead been as enlightening an experience as it is in One Million Dubliners, a fascinating exploration of Glasnevin Cemetery that was joint-winner of the Best Irish Feature Documentary award at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh. Cultural icons, political heroes, and ordinary Dubliners all find their resting place at Glasnevin and from the economics of arranging plots to the Frenchwoman who lays flowers at Michael Collins' grave,

the film unravels the richly detailed tapestry of these stories. Leading the way is Glasnevin’s tour guide and resident historian Shane Mac Thomáis, whose wisdom and charm breathes life into the stories buried under Glasnevin’s varied headstones and monuments. Concerned with mortality but never morbid, One Million Dubliners is a warm celebration of everyday life and a memorable contribution to Ireland’s ongoing conversation with its dead.

FILM INFO:80 minutes, Ireland, 2014, Colour, D-CinemaNotes by Conor Dowling

ONE MILLION DUBLINERS

FROM NOV 1ST Mike Leigh has fulfilled a long-held ambition to make a film about British painter J.M.W. Turner. Focusing on the 25 years before his death, Mr. Turner depicts a character who, in Leigh’s words, was “a giant among artists, single-minded and uncompromising, extraordinarily prolific, revolutionary in his approach, consummate at his craft, clairvoyant in his vision”, but also “eccentric, anarchic, vulnerable, imperfect, erratic and sometimes uncouth. He could be selfish

and disingenuous, mean yet generous, and he was capable of great passion and poetry.” These complexities are embodied in an incredible, physical performance from Timothy Spall, who veers from pontificating about art in high society to issuing guttural grunts, from claiming the moral high ground to visiting a brothel or sexually exploiting his housekeeper. More than a standard period biopic, Mr. Turner is an enigmatic marvel from a masterful filmmaker.

FILM INFO:150 minutes, U.K.-France-Germany, 2014, Colour, D-Cinema Notes by Michael Hayden

MR. TURNER SHARE YOUR VIEWS AT THE CRITICAL TAKE

SEE p2

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OPENS NOV 7TH Acclaimed filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev has established himself as a significant presence in world cinema with films such as The Return (2003), The Banishment (2007) and Elena (2011). Winner of the best screenplay award at Cannes this year, Leviathan is his most ambitious film to date, dazzling in its scope and daring. Referencing the Bible story of Job, it concerns Kolya, a mechanic working in a small town who refuses to sell his land and business to a bullying mayor.

Kolya brings in a friend from Moscow, looking for support in the face of aggression, but this has unforeseen consequences. Inspired by real life events, the film has drawn comparisons with Tarkovsky and with classical Russian literature. Leviathan stands as a provocative, powerful allegory for modern Russia, a depiction of a corrupt, broken and brutal society where common decency counts for nothing.

FILM INFO:140 minutes, Russian Federation, 2014, Subtitled, Colour, D-Cinema Notes by Michael Hayden

LEVIATHAN

OPENS NOV 7TH Director Donal Foreman deservedly won JDIFF’s CineTALENT award with his debut feature Out of Here last spring and now his brilliant, zeitgeisty vision of Dublin’s youth comes to the IFI. College dropout Ciaran (Fionn Walton) returns from Asia and, over the course of a week, reintroduces himself to friends, family, and the Dublin city he left behind. Uncomfortable living at home with his parents, new flame Melissa (Aoife Duffin) offers excitement, but his true

hope is to reconnect with ex-girlfriend Jess (Annabell Rickerby).

Already an experienced shorts filmmaker, Foreman’s talent is unmistakable here. With an oblique take on Dublin’s familiar and unfamiliar landmarks, and a fresh portrayal of Irish masculinity he patiently builds a rare and exceptionally true-to-life portrait of what it is to be young, educated and aimless in Ireland today.


FILM INFO:80 minutes, Ireland, 2013, Colour, D-Cinema Notes by Conor Dowling

OUT OF HERE

DIRECTOR IN FOCUSDonal Foreman will be in conversation with the IFI’s Michael Ryan on November 10th at 18.30, when a selection of his short films will be presented in advance of his debut feature, Out of Here. See page 19 for more details.

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OPENS NOV 7TH

FILM INFO:95 minutes, Italy-France, 2013, Subtitled, Colour, D-Cinema Notes by Michael Hayden

Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2013, Sacro GRA has the distinction of being the first documentary to take that prestigious award. Depicting the disparate lives close to the Grande Raccordo Anulare, an expansive ring road around Rome, director Gianfranco Rosi spent more than two years identifying his subjects and weaving their stories together, producing an artful and insightful observational film that has frequent

moments of humour and pathos, of joy and anguish. Rosi proves himself astute at unveiling beauty in everyday mundanity, and among the characters on screen are an ambulance driver, who is seen saving lives one moment, then alone in his flat; a naturalist studying how weevils are destroying palm trees that line part of the road; an eel fisherman, seen decrying the loss of tradition; and a self-proclaimed prince, proudly showing off his castle.

SACRO GRA

OPENS NOV 7TH Taking over three years and costing 17 million francs to make, Jacques Tati’s Playtime was by far the director’s most ambitious and fully realised film project. Shot on a vast and stylised purpose-built set known as Tativille, the film portrays a modernist Paris dominated by high-rises all cast in glass and polished metal. Reprising his role as the tragi-comic Monsieur Hulot, a mostly solitary and silent figure, Tati appears only peripherally and yet is as close

as we get to a protagonist. The only other mainstay is a young American tourist called Barbara with whom Hulot shares a subtle and beautifully drawn connection. But attention here is much more on the balletic movement of people through space, and, particularly in the riotous and intricate restaurant scene, several incidents often occur on screen at once, making this an extraordinary cinematic experience like no other.


IFI CLASSIC

FILM INFO:124 minutes, France, 1967, Colour, D-Cinema Notes by Alice Butler

PLAYTIME

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OPENS NOV 14TH It is New York in 1950 and John Malcolm Brinnin (Elijah Wood) is an uptight Harvard graduate, an aspiring poet and critic who is in awe of Dylan Thomas. Despite the Welsh writer’s reputation as a hell-raiser, Brinnin persuades conservative powers-that-be to bankroll a university speaking tour, volunteering to co-ordinate the events and to chaperone Thomas on his visit. Yet when Thomas (portrayed with scene-stealing relish by the film’s co-writer, Celyn Jones) arrives in America, neither Brinnin nor the country is prepared for what hits

them. The release of Set Fire to the Stars coincides with celebrations marking Dylan Thomas’ centenary and it succeeds in being more than simply a tribute to wayward genius. With an impeccable supporting cast, it is an engaging, ingenious and handsomely mounted film, brooding on the nature of creativity and inspiration.

These screenings will be preceded by Conor Ferguson’s IFB-funded short film Un Peu Plus. (7 mins, 2012, Ireland.)

FILM INFO:90 minutes, U.K., 2014, Black and White, D-CinemaNotes by Michael Hayden

SET FIRE TO THE STARS

SHARE YOUR VIEWS AT THE CRITICAL TAKE

SEE p2

PREVIEW AND CELYN JONES Q&A We are delighted to welcome the film’s writer, producer and key cast member Celyn Jones to participate in a Q&A session following the screening on November 13th at 18.30.

THE IMITATION GAME

OPENS NOV 14TH Alan Turing was a brilliant Cambridge mathematician who was instrumental in shortening World War II, having been employed by the British military to crack Nazi codes. His top secret work with others at Bletchley Park has been celebrated since information about it became declassified in the 1970s, though Turing had died in 1954, after being prosecuted for indecency and having endured a cruel punishment. Following his centenary in 2012 and a posthumous pardon and apology

from the British Government last year, this handsome, rousing biopic arrives when interest in Turing and his work is at a peak. Norwegian director Morten Tyldum (Headhunters) infuses the film with the edge and suspense of a committed thriller, while the celebrated cast are quite superb. Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance as Turing has justifiably been identified as award-worthy, though Keira Knightley, playing Turing’s companion and ally Joan Clarke, is equally strong.

SHARE YOUR VIEWS AT THE CRITICAL TAKE

SEE p2

FILM INFO:113 minutes, U.K.-U.S.A., 2014, Colour, D-CinemaNotes by Michael Hayden

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OPENS NOV 21ST Aydin (Haluk Bilginer) is a former actor, a middle-aged man now running a small hotel in Anatolian foothills. He lives with his young wife Nihal (Melisa Sözen), and the couple are offering support and shelter to Necla (Demet Akbağ), Aydin’s sister, who is enduring a painful divorce. As the snow begins to fall, the seemingly idyllic setting becomes a difficult place to escape and the isolation reveals Aydin as a man who is subtly at odds with the world around him, in conflict with his family

and community. The deserved winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year, Winter Sleep is a mesmerising, brutally honest, and quite brilliant work which positions Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Distant, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia) as a modern heir to Ingmar Bergman given his formidable insight into the human condition.


(KIS UYKUSU)

FILM INFO:196 minutes, Turkey-France-Germany, 2014, Subtitled, Colour, D-Cinema Notes by Michael Hayden

WINTER SLEEP

OPENS NOV 21ST There have been a number of films which have attempted to address the effect social media has had on people’s lives and the way we communicate in the modern world, but in creating a work based on 410 consecutive Twitter updates from the account @marylony, Thai filmmaker Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit can claim to have made something groundbreaking and unique. It is an affecting and distinctive portrait of youth which focuses on Mary (Patcha Poonpiriya),

an active, free-spirited teenager. She spends most of her time hanging out with her best pal Suri (Chonnikan Netjui), carries a crush for a boy known as M (Vasuphon Kriangprapakit), and has curious episodes such as a desire to order a jellyfish online or a fleeting flight of fancy that sees her in Paris. Her biggest responsibility is editing her school’s graduation yearbook, and that is something she takes very seriously.


FILM INFO:127 minutes, Thailand, 2013, Subtitled, Colour, D-Cinema Notes by Michael Hayden

MARY IS HAPPY, MARY IS HAPPY

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OPENS NOV 28TH Newly restored and digitally re-released, Stanley Kubrick’s iconic 2001: A Space Odyssey, written in collaboration with Arthur C. Clarke, has come to occupy a unique place in popular culture, its elements part of our shared lexicon, whether it be its association with particular pieces of music (Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra, for example), or arguably the most famous match cut in cinematic history, or the voice of the rational but deadly HAL 9000.

However, Kubrick’s film is so much more than these isolated moments; its grand scale covers the history of human evolution, posing insightful questions about who we are, why we behave as we do, and where our species might go from here. Kubrick presents future wonders as habitual, banal, but the real wonder is in his making such abstract concepts so relatable, and so beautiful.

IFI CLASSIC

FILM INFO:141 minutes, U.S.A.-U.K., 1968, Colour, D-Cinema Notes by Kevin Coyne

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

OPENS NOV 28TH Having occupied an undisputable position as a defining icon of the 20th century, the life story of Mohammad Ali has been frequently told in film and literature. Clare Lewins' enthralling documentary features incredible archive footage and allows the people who were closest to the man tell his story, an inner circle of family and friends that includes his daughters, sons, his ex-wife and his brother, who speak with enormous affection for Ali while refusing to

ignore some of his human faults and failings. The greats from the fight world, including George Foreman and Mike Tyson, are represented here, too, though what marks the film out from other biographical projects is unprecedented access to Ali’s personal audio archive, which includes some touching telephone communications he had with his family while he was away from them during his illustrious boxing career.


FILM INFO:111 minutes, U.K.-U.S.A., 2014, Colour, D-Cinema Notes by Michael Hayden

I AM ALI

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OPENS NOV 28TH Maria (Lea van Acken) is a devout 14-year-old Catholic girl counting down the days to her confirmation. She is determined to devote her life to Jesus and longs to attain sainthood. Encouraged by her fundamentalist family, and just like Jesus on the road to Golgotha, Maria embarks on a fraught path measured out in 14 stations and leading to her own sacrifice, resolutely resisting being distracted from her course, despite attracting attention from Christian (Moritz Knapp), a boy

she meets at school. Filmmaker Dietrich Brüggemann presents each chapter of Maria’s story in static, single shots, each incident framed impeccably, and it is an arresting and inventive device that serves the intensity of the drama. Stations of the Cross is a rigorous examination of radical faith and devotion, a study of the dangers of unquestioning dogma that is daring, intelligent, and slyly humourous.

(KREUZWEG)

FILM INFO:107 minutes, Germany, 2014, Subtitled, Colour, D-CinemaNotes by Michael Hayden

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

OPENS NOV 28TH Edwyn Collins suffered life-threatening cerebral haemorrhages in 2005, and lost the ability to talk. As he edged towards a recovery, the only words he could initially say were "yes" and "no", and "the possibilities are endless." In this beautiful, heart-wrenching documentary, filmmakers James Hall and Edward Lovelace pay tribute to Collins’ strength of character, celebrate the love between him and his devoted, indomitable wife, Grace Maxwell, and attempt to convey what it must

have been like for Edwyn following his illness, when his memory was essentially wiped. They do this by snatching archive from a glorious pop career, from the cocky jangle of Collins’ influential post-punk group Orange Juice through to his brilliant solo work that reaped rewards with the global hit that was A Girl Like You and by recreating sweet scenes with Edwyn’s son William playing Edwyn as a younger man.

FILM INFO:83 minutes, U.K., 2014, Colour, D-CinemaNotes by Michael Hayden

THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS

Edwyn Collins and Grace Maxwell Q&A We are delighted to welcome both Edwyn Collins and Grace Maxwell to participate in a Q&A session following the screening on November 28th at 18.30

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IFI & KINOPOLIS

The IFI is delighted to continue our partnership with Kinopolis, Dublin’s annual Polish Film Festival, with a programme that sees a variety of characters finding themselves outside of the mainstream.

Opening film The Word sees a teenage girl revenge herself on her cheating boyfriend in chilling fashion. Papusza offers audiences a rare glimpse into the life of a Romany woman who finds herself unwelcome among both the general public and her own community. Jack Strong tells the true story of a Polish soldier playing a dangerous game as he spies on his Communist superiors for the West. Closing film The Mighty Angel explores one man’s battle with addiction as he tries to become a more productive and better integrated member of society. This year’s festival also sees the return of the always popular showcase of new Polish animation, and we are delighted to welcome documentarian Paweł Łoziński to the IFI to present his work. For full programme details, please see the Festival’s website (www.kinopolis.com.pl). Our thanks to Sabina Wasik for her assistance.

Introduction and film notes by Kevin Coyne.

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IFI & KINOPOLIS 9TH POLISH FILM FESTIVAL

THE WORD

Director Anna Kazejak long search for a lead actress paid dividends with the casting of Eliza Rycembel as Lila, the 14-year-old who, when cheated on by repentant 15-year-old boyfriend Janek (Mateusz Więcławek), forces

him to earn his way back into her good graces through cold-blooded emotional manipulation.

Superimposing the tropes of the revenge thriller on a coming-of-age drama makes for an intriguing mixture, particularly when set against the backdrop of contemporary teenage communication as mediated by technology and social networking, making for a world in which consequences seem less real, and in which the line between childhood and adulthood is increasingly ill defined.

(OBIETNICA)

FILM INFO:97 minutes, Poland-Denmark, 2014, Subtitled, Colour, D-Cinema

NOV 6TH (18.30)

JACK STRONG

‘Jack Strong’ was the codename of Ryszard Kukliński, a Polish army colonel who, disillusioned under Soviet rule and fearing for his country’s future, passed Soviet secrets to the CIA during the Cold War, yet remains a divisive figure in

Poland, under suspicion of being a double agent.

In this engrossing new film from director Władysław Pasikowski (Aftermath), Kukliński (Marcin Dorociński) is portrayed as a man willing to put himself and his family at risk for the sake of a greater good, burdened with the difficulties of a life of duplicity and the ever-present possibility of being uncovered as a spy.

FILM INFO:128 minutes, Poland, 2014, Subtitled, Colour, D-Cinema

NOV 8TH (16.00)

Poet Bronisława Wajs (1908-1987), better known as ‘Papusza’, and portrayed in this biopic by Jowita Budnik, was a member of the Romany community in Poland, an ethnicity whose social

marginalisation throughout Europe continues to this day.

Papusza’s literacy made her unusual amongst her peers, and ultimately made for a difficult life, caught as she was between acting in accordance with her heritage while at the same time being considered a pariah for betraying these traditions to outsiders through her verse. Filled with details of a culture seldom portrayed on film, it’s a powerful depiction of a woman struggling to find her place.

FILM INFO:113 minutes, Poland, 2013, Subtitled, Black and White, D-Cinema

NOV 7TH (18.10)

PAPUSZA

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ANIMATION PROGRAMME

This year’s animation programme features a number of award-winning shorts in a wide variety of styles. In Tomasz Ducki’s Baths, two elderly swimmers meet at the pool. Ewa Borysewicz’s To Thy Heart follows

a woman’s romance from total infatuation to bitter disappointment. Tomasz Popakul’s Ziegenort sees a young boy convinced that he is becoming a fish. Anita Kwiatkowska-Naqvi’s Ab Ovo explores female fertility. Ex Animo, by Wojciech Wojtkowski, sees an animation taking on a life of its own. Izabela Plucińska’s claymation Liebling investigates memory loss. Zbigniew Czapla’s Toto sees a boy and his mother trying to find their way back to each other.

FILM INFO:64 minutes, Poland, 2012 – 2014, Subtitled, Colour and Black and White, Various Formats

NOV 9TH (12.00)

THE MIGHTY ANGEL

The new film from Wojciech Smarzowski, subject of a special focus at the 2012 edition of Kinopolis, tells the story of Jerzy (Robert Więckiewicz, Wałęsa: Man of Hope), an intelligent and talented writer battling alcoholism. When he

falls in love with a younger woman (Julia Kijowska, In Darkness), he makes a concerted effort to finally sober up, but a lapse into old habits results in a stay in intensive care, and a detox unit.

Unflinching in its depiction of Jerzy’s experience of alcoholism, the film is shot through with Smarzowski’s trademark black humour in a film by turns harrowing and poignant.

(POD MOCNYM ANIOŁEM)

FILM INFO:110 minutes, Poland, 2014, Subtitled, Colour, D-Cinema

NOV 9TH (18.00)

The IFI and Kinopolis are delighted to welcome Paweł Łoziński to Dublin to present a selection of his work. In Sisters, two elderly women sitting on a park bench reveal the dynamic of their relationship, the elder sister still

maintaining an air of dominance over the younger even when both are in their ninth decade.

Father and Son follows Paweł and father Marcel, also a documentarian of note, travelling from Poland to Paris in a camper van, and simply talking as they review their complicated relationship. In his latest film, Werka, a working couple find time in their lives to care for disabled Weronika. Paweł Łoziński will be in attendance at this event.

(DROGÓWKA)

FILM INFO:112 minutes, Poland, 1999 – 2014, Subtitled, Colour, Various Formats

NOV 9TH (13.20)

DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMME

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IFI EVENTS

IFI EVENTS

IRELAND ON SUNDAYWILD STRAWBERRIESARCHIVE AT LUNCHTIME IFI FAMILYFEAST YOUR EYESFROM THE VAULTS AFTERNOON TALK SPECIAL EVENT: INEZ – A CHALLENGING WOMAN NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE DIRECTOR IN FOCUS: DONAL FOREMAN

Wild Strawberries is our bi-monthly film club for over 55s.

Retired nurse Philomena Lee (Judi Dench) has been keeping a secret for 50 years. Whilst detained in a Magdalene Laundry in 1960s

Ireland, her infant son was taken from her. The extraordinary story comes to the attention of a cynical journalist (Steve Coogan) who decides to investigate it further, taking the unlikely pair across the Atlantic in a search that challenges both their respective beliefs. Terrific performances and humour from the leads make for a very moving adaptation of journalist Martin Sixsmith’s original book.

Wild Strawberries is our film club for over 55s. If you are lucky enough to look younger, please don’t take offence if we ask your age.

DIRECTOR:Stephen Frears

FILM INFO:98 minutes, 2013, Drama

NOV 26TH & 28TH (11.00)

Ireland on Sunday is our monthly showcase for new Irish film.

A documentary tribute to a community in the West Cork Gaeltacht where men of all ages and

from all walks of life gather every Sunday to sing with Cór Chúil Aodha. Founded by legendary Irish composer Seán Ó Riada and continued by his son Peadar, the choir embodies the spirit of an area that is steeped in poetry and music.

The film follows the choir as they prepare for a visit to the island of Iona with President Michael D. Higgins.

Director Dónal Ó Céilleachair will participate in a post-screening Q&A

NOV 2ND (13.00)

(FROM COOLEA TO IONA)

DIRECTOR:Dónal Ó Céillachair

FILM INFO:53 minutes, 2014, Ireland, Colour and Black and White

IRELAND ON SUNDAYÓ CHÚIL AODHA GO HÓILEÁN Í

WILDSTRAWBERRIESPHILOMENA

Tickets €3.85 (inc tea and coffee before the screening).

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MINUSCULE: VALLEY OF THE LOST ANTSNOV 30TH (11.00)

A summer’s day. A peaceful clearing in the country. It’s hard to imagine the frenetic battle that will ensue after a young couple run to shelter from a storm, leaving the remains of their picnic behind. Two tribes of ants enter the frame – one black, one red, both determined to win the abandoned box of sugar. Somehow, a red ladybird gets caught in the crossfire, and takes sides to protect the anthill from destruction.

This dazzling 3D animation mixes CGI insects with real natural settings, quirky sound effects and humour to extraordinary effect. Based on the worldwide hit TV series by writer-directors Szabo and Giraud, this is epic adventure on a minuscule scale.

DIRECTORS: Thomas Szabo, Hélène Giraud

FILM INFO: 89 minutes, France, 2013, 3D

Showing as part of the Carte Noire IFI French Film Festival.

Tickets: €5 per person, €15 family ticket (2 adults + 2 children/1 adult + 3 children)

IFI FAMILY

ARCHIVE AT LUNCHTIME

Join us for free lunchtime screenings of films from the IFI Irish Film Archive. Simply collect your tickets at the IFI Box Office. Please see www.ifi.ie for dates and times.

Vues de I'Irlande

Whet your appetite for the Carte Noire IFI French Film Festival with some French perspectives on Ireland.

PROGRAMME 1: TRIBULATIONS IRLANDAISES This French newsreel presents a whirlwind tour of 1960s Ireland. FILM INFO: 5 minutes, 1965, Black and White

LA RÈVE CELTIQUE Made by Frédéric Rossif for French television La Rève Celtique presents Ireland as a country of ethereal landscapes, inspiring generations of traditional Irish musicians. FILM INFO: 25 minutes, 1978, Colour

PROGRAMME 2: BELFAST, 1897 The first films made on the streets of Belfast produced by the film pioneers Les frères Lumière. FILM INFO: 3 minutes, 1897, Black and White

81 Director Stephen Burke imagines a French film crew in Belfast to cover the Hunger Strikes in 1981. They interview a Catholic and Protestant family, living within feet of each other, similar in every way but for their politics. FILM INFO: 28 minutes, 1997, Colour

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Whetting appetites for the Carte Noire IFI French Film Festival is this French/Italian/Irish oddity from the IFI Irish Film Archive collection.

The Purple Taxi follows a group of emotionally troubled expatriates

living in tax exile in an Irish village. Dr. Seamus Scully (Fred Astaire) is the taxi driver, a retired physician. Philippe (Philippe Noiret) is a French novelist recently relocated to Ireland, where he befriends Jerry (Edward Albert), an American who left his home after the death of his girlfriend, and Taubelman (Peter Ustinov), father of Anne (Agostina Belli), a beautiful young woman who cannot speak. Jerry becomes infatuated with Anne, while Philippe tries to win the heart of Jerry’s sister, Sharon (Charlotte Rampling). Presented here in English (but filmed simultaneously in French as Un Taxi Mauve) with a Chieftains score.

NOV 5TH (18.30)

DIRECTOR:Yves Boisset

FILM INFO:110 minutes, 1977, Colour, 16mm

FROM THE VAULTSTHE PURPLE TAXI

Farah Abushwesha will give a masterclass for filmmakers, screenwriters and all creative individuals looking to connect with the film industry and develop a professional approach to presenting

their work. Farah is a writer, film producer and founder of the BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Forum. She is the author of Rocliffe Notes - A Professional Approach for Screenwriters & Writer-Directors, a compendium of advice, pointers and tips for writers and directors from 140 industry professionals, including BAFTA and Oscar winners, based on Farah’s popular blog and Farah’s Rocliffe Notes (rocliffe.com/rocliffe_blogspot). She regularly runs screenwriter courses and speaks on industry panels at events around the world.

AFTERNOON TALKGETTING YOUR SCRIPT OUT THERE AND READ! NOV 18TH (16.30)

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Tickets €5 (inc tea and coffee)

Our monthly gastronomic feature followed by a meal in the IFI Café Bar.

Punctuated by three consecutive Thanksgiving dinners, the plot of Woody Allen’s brilliant Hannah and Her

Sisters follows the lives of Mia Farrow’s self-sufficient Hannah and her two sisters; Lee, played by Barbara Hershey, and the inimitable Dianne Wiest’s Holly. Neatly breaking up the stories of these three complex characters is a sub-plot involving Hannah’s ex-husband Mickey Sachs, a hypochondriac suffering a crisis of faith.

While the ensemble cast (including Michael Caine, Carrie Fisher, Maureen O’Sullivan, Max von Sydow and Julie Kavner) is terrific, it is Wiest’s Academy-Award winning performance as Holly, an actress who resorts to catering to make ends meet, that gives this film its edge.

NOV 12TH (18.30)

DIRECTOR:Woody Allen

FILM INFO:106 minutes, U.S.A., 1986, Colour, DVD Notes by Alice Butler

FEAST YOUR EYESHANNAH AND HER SISTERS

Tickets €20. Free list suspended.

1919

Through archive footage, an interview with Inez McCormack herself, and contributions from friends and colleagues such as Hillary Clinton, Mary Robinson and President Michael D. Higgins, this award-winning film explores the

life of a remarkable woman who began her career as a civil rights activist in Northern Ireland in 1968 and continued as a passionate and effective advocate of social justice until her death in 2013.

The screening will take place in the presence of the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. It will be followed by a panel discussion with Michael Farrell, civil rights activist, Trevor Birney, co-director, and Susan McKay, producer.

NOV 27TH (16.00)

SPECIAL EVENT: INEZ – A CHALLENGING WOMAN

DIRECTORS:Trevor Birney and Eimhear O'Neill

FILM INFO:33 minutes, 2014, D-Cinema

John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is this month’s presentation in National Theatre Live, a series of performances from the world’s most prestigious theatres, broadcast onto cinema screens globally. In this landmark Broadway revival of Steinbeck’s

masterful play, Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee James Franco plays George Milton, a migrant farm labourer and devoted friend to Lennie Small, a simple-minded and more vulnerable figure, played here by Tony Award nominee Chris O’Dowd. Directed by Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circles and Tony Award winner Anna D. Shapiro, this affecting production evocatively brings the original Depression era story to life.

Presented by the IFI in association with Dublin Theatre Festival.

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE:OF MICE AND MEN (ENCORE PRESENTATION) NOV 6TH (19.15)

DIRECTOR:Anna D. Shapiro

FILM INFO:150 minutes approx, 2014, D-Cinema

Tickets €15. Free list suspended.

Donal Foreman, in conversation with the IFI’s Michael Ryan, will present a selection of his short films which stylistically and thematically foreshadow his debut feature, Out of Here.

PULL (20 minutes, 2009) During one summer's day in Dublin, a girl reaches a painful turning point in her most intimate relationship.

REFUGE (10 minutes, 2009) A troubled office worker goes for a long walk through Dublin city.

DAY 61: OCCUPY WALL STREET (11 minutes, 2011) An experimental documentary about New York’s Occupy Wall Street movement.

THE GHOST SAID (18 minutes, 2014) Long after the couple separated, the orphaned memories of their encounter resurface.

NOV 10TH (18.30)

DIRECTOR IN FOCUS:DONAL FOREMAN

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FILM INFO:Total duration approx 90 minutes

Donal Foreman's Out of Here opens on November 7th. See page 7 for more details.

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Carte Noire IFI French Film Festival

Box Office 01 679 3477 www.ifi.ie

November 19th – 30th 2014

The best of French cinema, masterclasses & special guests

FFF14-A5-ad.indd 1 17/10/2014 15:24

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IFI MEMBERSHIP gives you free film tickets, free screenings, discounts and much more…

Your IFI Membership helps support the IFI’s vital work in preserving and restoring Ireland’s unique and precious moving image heritage, and in engaging young people through our national education programme.

Apply online at www.ifi.ie or pick up an application form at the IFI Box Office.

For Group Membership, contact Saidhbh Ní Dhúlaing T: 01 679 5744 E: [email protected]

For Corporate Membership, contact Fiona Clark T: 01 679 5744 E: [email protected]

www.ifi.ie

Irish Film Institute The home of film in Ireland.Be part of it.

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JERVIS STREET

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PUBLIC & CLUB SCREENINGSAround half of our films are classified by the Irish Film Classification Office, are open to the general public and do not require membership. Unclassified films require membership. You have two options: annual membership (€25 or €15 concessions) or daily membership (€1 per person each time you visit the cinema). For further details on membership, please go to www.ifi.ie or call our Box Office.

†The exclusivity status of films is correct at time of going to print

LOYALTY & MEMBERSHIPThe IFI Loyalty Card is free and allows you to earn points that you can later exchange for free cinema tickets. Membership gives you the chance to attend a free preview screening every single month and discounts when you spend at the IFI. Go to www.ifi.ie or call our Box Office for details. Please remember: no card, no points!

PARKINGOn presentation of your IFI cinema ticket, the Fleet Street Car Park will offer IFI patrons a special rate of €5.00 for 3 hours’ parking. Simply present the cinema ticket along with the parking ticket when you pay at the cash desk, prior to collecting your car.

BOX OFFICE & PRICESADMISSION FEESThese apply to regular IFI screenings and do not necessarily apply to special events or festivals. Reduced admission fees for annual members and their guests are detailed in brackets.

MONDAY – FRIDAY12.30pm to 6pm €7.60 (€6.90) Conc. €5.90 (€5.40)6pm to 10pm €9.00 (€7.90) Conc. €7.60 (€6.90)

SATURDAY – SUNDAY*12.30pm to 4pm €7.60 (€6.90) Conc. €5.90 (€5.40)4pm to 10pm €9.00 (€7.90) Conc. €7.60 (€6.90)

*including Bank Holidays

Credit card bookings can be taken between 12.30pm and 9.00pm on (01) 679 3477 or 24-hours at www.ifibooking.ie. Online and telephone bookings are subject to a booking fee of 50c per ticket to a maximum of €1 per transaction. There are no booking fees on any ticket purchase made in person at the IFI Box Office.Please be advised that tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded.

All cinema screens at the IFI are wheelchair accessible. If you are a wheelchair user, please let the IFI Box Office know at least 30 minutes in advance of a screening (01 679 5744 /[email protected]). To enable us to determine your requirements and assist you fully, we regret that we are unable to offer wheelchair bookings online.

YOUR VISITTO THE IFI

Films start at the times stated in this programme. Latecomers may be refused admission after the start of the feature.

LATECOMERS POLICY

IFI BOARDPatron: Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland Board Members: Lenny Abrahamson, Paddy Breathnach, Michael Collins, Maeve Connolly, Sheila de Courcy, Garry Hynes, Neil Jordan, Margaret Kelleher (Chairperson), Trish Long, Kevin Moriarty, Patsy Murphy, Dr. Harvey O’Brien, Dearbhla Walsh.

CONTACTIrish Film Institute, 6 Eustace Street,Temple Bar, Dublin 2

Box Office: (01) 679 3477, Web: www.ifi.ie

Facebook.com/irishfilminstitute Facebook.com/IFICafe

@IFI_Dub@IFI_Filmshop

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RELEASED BY TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX

IN CINEMAS NOV 14

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ifi november programme

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