The fifth annual Irish Film Festival London kicked off this week, presenting a diverse range of Irish film and animation to a London audience.
Neil Jordan’s ‘Breakfast on Pluto’ will screen on Thursday, November 19th starring Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson. The adaptation of the novel by Patrick McCabe celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
An exclusive preview screening of the highly acclaimed ‘Room’ directed by Lenny Abrahamson will be held on November 20th, which will be followed by a Q&A with the director. Adapted by Emma Donoghue from her own novel, ‘Room’ was the winner of the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and will be released in cinemas on January 15th. It was produced by Ed Guiney for Element Pictures and David Gross for No Trace Camping.
The animated short film ‘City of Roses’ will screen as part of a program of short films on November 21st. Directed by Andrew Kavanagh and produced by Jackie Leonard, it features the voice of Peter Coonan (‘Love/Hate’, ‘Get Up & Go’).
Saturday the 21st sees a screening of ‘Brooklyn’ starring Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson. ‘Brooklyn’ recently proved to be a hit with Irish cinemagoers, topping the Irish box office and earning a rare 99% rating on RottenTomatoes.com. It was directed by John Crowley and adapted by Nick Hornby from Colm Tóibín’s novel. It was produced by Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, with Alan Moloney as executive producer.
The Galway Film Fleadh winning documentary ‘Older Than Ireland’ will show on Sunday, November 22nd, which tells the story of a hundred years of a life as seen through the eyes of thirty Irish men and women aged 100 or over. This will include a Q&A session with director Alex Fegan. It was produced by Garry Walsh for Snackbox Films.
Also on November 22nd is a screening of another Galway Film Fleadh winner - Mark Noonan’s ‘You’re Ugly Too’ starring Aidan Gillen. ‘You’re Ugly Too’ premiered at the Berlinale Festival earlier this year. The screening will include a Q&A with the director. It was produced by John Keville and Conor Barry for Savage Productions.
Other Irish films screening at the festival include the opening night documentary ‘WB Yeats: No Country for Old Men’ (18 Nov), ‘A Christmas Star’ (21 Nov), ‘An Klondike’ (21 Nov) and documentaries ‘A Kind of Sisterhood’ and ‘Name Your Poison’ (both 22 Nov).
Attendees can also attend talks on Film Finance in the UK and Ireland with Head of Media at Grant Thornton, John Gleeson and Head of Production at Pinewood Ireland, Naoise Barry on November 19th, in addition to a November 20th audience with casting agent Ros Hubbard.
The films will be screened across six venues in London including: the Tricycle Cinema, Kilburn; Regent Street Cinema, Bertha Dochouse at Curzon Bloomsbury; Prince Charles Cinema, Europe House and Grange Hotel. The festival celebrates and showcases the remarkable Irish talent working in the contemporary film industry.
The festival takes place from November 18th to 22nd 2015. For more details on the festival, see www.irishfilmfestivallondon.com.
