THE IRISH FILM FESTIVAL OF LOS ANGELES
October 2-5, 2008
The Irish Film Festival of Los Angeles celebrates Ireland's most recent artistic revolution - cinema. During the four day festival it will present contemporary and classic Irish features, documentaries and shorts and will feature panel discussions and other special events. The festival is designed to act as a launching pad for Irish films and filmmakers by bringing them visibility within the Hollywood community. All screenings take place at the Clarity Theatre, 100 N. Crescent Drive, Beverly Hills CA 90210. Ticket prices -. For information visit www.lairishfilm.com or call 310.933.1439
Thursday, October 2, 2008
7:00pm – EDEN. Directed by Declan Recks, from the producers of the Irish box office sensation "Once". The film follows a married couple in a picturesque Irish town as they prepare for their 10th anniversary and confront their fears of the future. A vivid portrayal of marriage and the vulnerability of love, the film features tour-de-force performances by Eileen Walsh (Best Actress, Tribeca Film Festival) and Aidan Kelly. 84 min. Preceded by BUA, 13 min. Reception to follow.
Friday, October 3, 2008
4:00pm - THE PRIDE. In a small Irish traveler (gypsy) community in upstate New York, Mickey Reilly returns from prison determined to win back his estranged wife Sarah. After years of a complex bitter sweet relationship and an episode of domestic violence, Sarah struggles to leave with their newborn daughter for a safer world. 82 min. Q&A with director/star Gerard Hurley.
6:30pm – KINGS. Director Tom Collins follows six ambitious Irishmen who dream of making their fortunes in the construction industry of 1970s London. This universal story of disenfranchisement and search for identity was nominated for a record 14 Irish Film and Television Awards in 2008 and won five, and is the first Irish-language film ever submitted in the Best Foreign Language category for the Academy Awards. Starring Colm Meaney. 88 min. Q&A with director Tom Collins.
9:00pm - DICK DICKMAN P.I. The cream of Irish comedy gather for the funniest film this decade. Starring Patrick Bergin, Frank Carson, Brendan O’Carroll, June Rodgers, Jon Kenny, Joe Rooney, Alan Shortt, Louise Osbourne, Doreen Keogh, Paul Malone and Barry O’Neill as Dick Dickman as a hapless private detective who fumbles his way through his first case with each clue bringing him further and further away from solving it. 93 min.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
2:00pm - Shorts Program: TEETH. Directors Ruari O'Brian, John Kennedy. A short "last laugh" tale of two old friends, their teeth and a series of events that leaves them lost for words.2 min. JANEY MARY. Director/Script/Producer Paul Brady. A five year old girl in 1940s Dublin is sent by her mother onto the cold and wet streets to beg for food. 20 min.
FRANKIE. Director Darren Thornton. Frankie is fifteen and preparing for fatherhood. He is determined that he is going to be the best dad ever, but as his day goes on he starts to realize how difficult this will be. 15 min. UNDRESSING MY MOTHER. Director Ken Wardrop’s poignant documentary explores a woman's unique take on her aging and overweight body. 5 min. USELESS DOG. Director Ken Wardrop’s witty mini documentary about an inept dog. 5 min. RIGHT NOW LADIES AND GENTS. John Paul Murphy directed his darkly comic script about a young man who is persecuted by an overzealous pub bouncer. 10 min. DING DONG DENNY O'REILLY'S HISTORY OF IRELAND.Director Cathal Gaffney. A tourist walks into a Dublin pub looking for directions and encounters Ding Dong Denny O'Reilly who insists on telling him the "real" history of Ireland over a number of pints.
3:30pm – THE LUCK OF GINGER COFFEY - This 1964 film from director Irvin Kershner ("Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back") is based on the late Belfast-born writer and Malibu resident Brian Moore’s ("Black Robe," "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne") autobiographical novel. Winner of the Canadian Film Award for Best Feature Film, this is an extremely well-crafted, somber portrait of an Irish emigrant dreamer longing for personal freedom, starring Robert Shaw (JAWS). 100 min. Q&A with director Irvin Kershner.
6:30pm - WHEN HOPE AND HISTORY RHYMED. A documentary film on the Northern Ireland Peace Process following fifteen students from California on a political, intellectual and personal exploration while studying at Queens University, Belfast. Q&A with director Kelly Candaele, moderated by journalist Patricia Danaher.
8:3opm - The Jewish-Irish Experience features two films: GRANDPA....SPEAK TO ME IN RUSSIAN. In this moving docudrama director Louis Lentin uncovers the inspiring story of his family and the lost world of the Jewish shtetl, reconstructing the life of his paternal grandfather, Kalman Solomon Lentin. The story unfolds with fascinating archival material and drawings illustrating their journey. 55 min. Plays with SHALOM IRELAND. director Valerie Lapin reveals Ireland’s small but vibrant Jewish community, focusing on three Irish-Jewish families, with a soundtrack that fuses traditional Irish music with Klezmer music. 57 min. Q&A with Louis Lentin & Valerie Lapin.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
11:00am - LEARNING GRAVITY. Directed by Cathal Black. An elegant, elegiac film on Thomas Lynch, renowned Irish-American poet, essayist and – undertaker! Atmospherically shot combining family photographs and home movies with reconstructions and actual footage. A lucid, entertaining and ultimately life-affirming take on death and what comes before and after. 70 min.
1:00pm - THE IRON HORSE. Directed by John Ford (born Sean O'Feeney). B & W, Silent, 1924. One of the great silent screen epic-scale westerns, portraying love, treachery and revenge, John Ford's film about the building of the transcontinental railroad was one of Ford’s first major successes and was hugely influential on outdoor films that followed. Shot on location in Arizona in Ford's beloved Monument Valley. 133 min.
4:00pm - Film Financing Seminar: SHOOTING THE GREEN: Funding and Shooting in Ireland. How to tap into Ireland's rich tax incentives for co-production of your feature,
documentary, TV drama or animation made in Ireland. This panel discussion will
cover development funding, production funding, equity & copyright in projects in an
overview of the Section 431 funding available. Panelists include Jonathan Loughran, VP Irish Film Board, moderated by veteran international film and television financing attorney Bill Grantham of Greenberg Traurig. Free admission.
7:00pm – Closing Night Special Event. Classic silent films will be accompanied by a live orchestra with a contemporary score composed by Eimear Noone, conductor of the L.A Ballet. THE LAD FROM OLD IRELAND, directed by Sidney Olcott. In August 1910, the Kalem Company of New York City sent director Sidney Olcott and a film crew to Ireland to make “The Lad From Old Ireland.” The film is the story of a boy who emigrated to America to escape the desperate poverty of Ireland. After becoming successful in his adopted country he returns to retrieve his sweetheart just as her destitute family is being forced off their land. Plays with IN THE DAYS OF ST. PATRICK, directed by Norman Whitten (1920). The story of 4th Century Saint Patrick - the prince who became a slave, the slave who became a priest, the priest who converted a nation. Followed by Closing Night Reception. Program running time 60 min.
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