ADIFF: Paul Schrader recieves Volta

Acclaimed director and screenwriter Paul Schrader tonight receives the Audi Dublin International Film Festival’s prestigious Volta Award at the Irish Premiere of First Reformed.

Paul Schrader, renowned director of films such as Blue Collar, Hardcore, American Gigolo, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, The Comfort of Strangers, Light Sleeper, Patty Hearst, and Affliction among many others, and screenwriter of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, tonight receives the Audi Dublin International Film Festival’s highest honour, the Volta Award, at the Irish Premiere of his new film First Reformed. The Volta Award celebrates the careers of individuals who have made a significant contribution to the world of film. Paul Schrader’s visit to ADIFF will include an in-depth Public Interview in the O’Reilly Theatre, broadcast live as an RTÉ Radio 1 Arena Special, and will introduce a series of screenings of films that have inspired him. Tickets are available to book now at www.diff.ie.

Gráinne Humphreys, Festival Director, said “I’m thrilled that the Audi Dublin International Film Festival will tonight bestow our highest honour, the Volta Award, to one of the great writer-directors at the Irish Premiere of his new film First Reformed. Paul Schrader started his career as one of the talented young filmmakers who were at the centre of an extraordinary renaissance of American cinema in the 1970s. Schrader has also had a remarkable career as a director and, as a critic, he’s a passionate advocate and interrogator of film culture.”

In First Reformed, ex-military chaplain Toller (Ethan Hawke) is tortured by the loss of the son he encouraged to enlist and struggles with his faith. A faith that’s challenged by befriending a radical environmentalist, Michael, and upon learning of his church’s complicity with unscrupulous corporations.

Previous winners of Audi Dublin International Film Festival’s Volta Award include Al Pacino, Julie Andrews, Danny DeVito, Daniel Day-Lewis, Joss Whedon, Brendan Gleeson, Angela Lansbury, Stanley Tucci, Stellan Skarsgård, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ennio Morricone. The Volta Award is named after Ireland’s first dedicated cinema, the Volta Picture Theatre on Mary Street in Dublin, which was opened on the 20^th December 1909 by an enterprising young novelist named James Joyce.

Schrader will be this year’s ADIFF Guest Curator, selecting and introducing three films that have inspired his own work as a filmmaker including Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket (1959), Yasujirō Ozu’s An Autumn Afternoon (1962), and Donald Cammell & Nicolas Roeg’s Performance (1970).

Tickets for the Public Interview and the Paul Schrader season are available now via the ADIFF Box Office (www.diff.ie or 01 687 7974). 

SCHEDULE Paul Schrader – ADIFF 2018 Guest Curator 

Thursday 22^nd February
18.00 (Cineworld) First Reformed (Irish Premiere with Q&A and Volta Award Presentation)

Friday 23^rd February 
14.00 (Lighthouse Cinema)  – Pickpocket (1959), introduced by Paul Schrader
16.00 (Lighthouse Cinema) – Performance (1970), introduced by Paul Schrader
18.45 (O’Reilly Theatre) – Paul Schrader Public Talk 

Saturday 24^th February
14.00 (Lighthouse Cinema) – An Autumn Afternoon (1962), introduced by Paul Schrader

ADIFF 2018: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Game of Thrones and Headhunters star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is a late addition to the Audi Dublin International Film Festival 2018, presenting his new Nordic thriller 3 THINGS.

Danish star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, best-known as Jaime Lannister in HBO’s Game of Thrones, will no doubt be raising an army of fans for the Gala screening of suspenseful Scandinavian thriller 3 THINGS at ADIFF 2018 in Cineworld at 6.30pm on Tuesday 27^th February. Tickets for 3 THINGS  have just gone on sale so snap them up fast at www.diff.ie!

ADIFF Festival Director Gráinne Humphreys said ‘With the start of the festival just hours away, I’m really excited to announce Game of Thrones stalwart Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, also known for his roles in Mama, Shotcaller, and A Second Chance, will be joining us for ADIFF 2018. Coster-Waldau’s new film, which he both stars in and of which he is an Executive Producer, 3 THINGS is a tense and claustrophobic thriller, packed with twists and turns and he shines as the master criminal who believes that he can charm his way out of any situation.’

3 THINGS takes place in a hotel where the police are negotiating the terms of a witness protection deal with the prime suspect of a robbery and an expert on explosives, Mikael (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). In order to agree to the deal, Mikael demands three things from the police: that his former girlfriend is brought to him, that the police bring him the contents of a box he has stored, and that he is served butter chicken from his favourite restaurant. The police, under heavy time pressure to get him to testify the following day, agree.

3 Things joins ADIFF’s line-up of the world’s best films coming to Dublin 21^st Feb -4^th March, featuring special guests including Paul Schrader (First Reformed, Paul Schrader Public Talk), Vanessa Redgrave (Sea Sorrow, Public Talk & Volta Award Presentation); Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara at a Gala Screening ofMary Magdalene.

ADIFF also includes the Immersive Stories Virtual Reality Conference & Exhibition bringing top names in VR to Dublin for a two-day exploration of the future of filmed entertainment.

Tickets for the Gala screening of 3 THINGS (with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) at 6.30pm on Tuesday 27^th Feb at Cineworld are on sale now at the Box Office at 12 East Essex Street Temple Bar, by phone on 01 687 7974 or online at www.diff.ie.

ADIFF: Immersive Stories

The final line-up and schedule has been released for the Immersive Stories: Virtual Reality Conference & Exhibition, which takes place at the Round Room in the Mansion House, Dublin on 24^th & 25^th February 2018 as part of the Audi Dublin International Film Festival.

The Immersive Stories Conference brings pioneering international and Irish thought leaders on Virtual and Augmented Reality to Dublin to chart new ways of storytelling on immersive platforms; developments that are already revolutionising the way we produce and consume entertainment.

The finalised line-up includes Resh Sidhu, Creative Director of Two Species VR; Ian Bowie, Experience Designer at the ILMxLAB and Lead Designer on STAR WARS: SECRETS OF THE EMPIRE; Curtis Hickman: Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of critically-acclaimed immersive entertainment company TheVOID; Sol Rogers, CEO & Founder, REWIND; Colum Slevin, Head of Experiences at Oculus VR; Andrew Melchior, Founder of 3^rd Space Agency and Executive Producer of Björk Digital; Davor Krvavac, Executive Creative Director at B-Reel London, (creators of the Gorrilaz AR app), and many more. The Immersive Stories Conference and Exhibition is curated by Eoghan Cunneen, a Senior Software Engineer at Lucasfilm Ltd.

Immersive Stories –  Exhibition: Running alongside the conference, this is a chance for both attendees and the general public to experience some of the best Virtual and Augmented Reality experiences including BladeRunner 2049: Memory Lab; a showcase of Gorrilaz’s multiplatform campaign that accompanied the Humanz album; Björk’s VR music video NotGet that was showcased at MoMA and Somerset House; The Guardian’s detective documentary Crime Scene; Fable Studio’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Wolves in the Walls; and a selection of VR content from RTÉ.

Receiving its World Premiere, Pink Kong Studio’s short VR film Aurora, that was specially commissioned by ADIFF, Audi Ireland and Screen Training Ireland,  will be screened at the exhibition and will be accompanied by a case study at the conference.

Immersive Stories: Conference runs 9am-5pm across 24^th & 25^th Feb.
Immersive Stories: Exhibition runs at 6pm & 8pm on both 24^th & 25^th Feb.

Tickets for the Immersive Stories Conference (€95/€55 Concs, including exhibition & lunch) and tickets for the Exhibition (€10) available at www.diff.ie or 01 687 7974.

ADIFF: Cedric Gibbons

ADIFF is putting a spotlight on the most successful art director in the history of cinema, Dublin-born Cedric Gibbons (1890-1960). Working for MGM from the 1920s, he shaped the sets, props, and costumes for more than a thousand films, and contributed greatly to the studio’s reputation as Hollywood’s number one ‘dream factory.’

He conceived the colossal sets of Ben-Hur (1925); the technicolour realm of The Wizard of Oz (1939); Van Gogh’s world in Lust for Life (1956); and the futuristic setting of Forbidden Planet (1956). And Gibbons’ enthusiasm for abstract art and art deco interiors in the 1930s probably did more to promote modern design than the Bauhaus. Gibbons won eleven Oscars for his art direction, receiving the famous statuette that he himself had designed. Four films showcasing Gibbons’ art direction will be shown as part of the Audi Dublin International Film Festival at the IFI – The Big Parade (1925) on Mon 26th Feb, 13.30; Dinner at Eight (1933) on Tues 27th Feb, 13.30; Grand Hotel (1932) on Wed 28th Feb, 13.30; and An American in Paris (1951) on Fri 2nd March, 13.30. Tickets are available from www.diff.ie

Reflecting on his own design for Grand Hotel, Gibbons said ‘motion picture settings usually serve the purpose of providing a background for the action of the picture. Here, however, the sets take the role of an actor, becoming one of the central figures in the story’. Gibbons’ influence extended beyond the film set – he designed a white inner office and a Santa Monica beach house for Louis B. Mayer. His own California home is a masterpiece of Art Deco design and the subject of many myths. The young Errol Flynn is reported to have been discovered during an archery session on the grounds of Gibbons’ dream villa. Married to two of the most glamorous movie stars of the era, Dolores del Río and Hazel Brooks, Gibbons was also a Hollywood celebrity.

And yet, he remains an enigmatic character. Proud of his Irish heritage, he claimed Dublin as his birthplace, though others claim he was born in Brooklyn. And how his massive studio – employing dozens of set designers, and costume and prop makers – operated remains a mystery. To explore his life and career, and to unpick these riddles, the Audi Dublin International Film Festival has combined with the MA in Design History and Material Culture at National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in organising a Cedric Gibbons exhibition and conference in NCAD’s gallery in Thomas Street.

The exhibition in the gallery’s foyer features photographs from the American Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences’ archive (weekdays 2-12 March 2018). The conference at NCAD on 2nd March 2018 includes talks on the past, present and future of design in film. Speakers include cultural historian Luke Gibbons, Finn Halligan, chief film critic of Screen International, and professional film designers working today including Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh – the programme appears at www.ncad.ie

Tickets for the Cedric Gibbons Season in the Audi Dublin International Film Festival are available from www.diff.ie. Tickets for the Cedric Gibbons Conference at NCAD on the 2^nd March are available at www.ncad.ie/

ADIFF: Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix hit Dublin

Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix will be appearing at the Audi Dublin International Film Festival, lighting up the red carpet Gala showing of Lion director Garth Davis’ latest feature Mary Magdalene.

 

Mara and Phoenix will join their director Garth Davis for a just-announced gala screening of Mary Magdalene at the Savoy Cinema, Dublin at 18.30, Wed 28th Feb. This is Mara and Davis’ second collaboration after Lion. Mary Magdalene is released in cinemas nationwide on 16th March. Gráinne Humphreys, ADIFF Festival Director, says ‘I’m delighted to be able to announce Mary Magdalene as a new addition to the programme of the upcoming Audi Dublin International Film Festival. And of course, we’re thrilled that we’re able to welcome two extraordinary film actors, Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix, alongside director Garth Davis to the festival. I know that Dublin is going to make them very welcome.”

Focus Features presents Mary Magdalene in association with Film 4, Filmnation, See-Saw Films and Porchlight Films. Set in the Holy Land in the first century AD, Mary Magdalene follows a young woman who leaves her small fishing village and family to join a new religious movement. Inspired by its charismatic leader, Jesus of Nazareth, and his revolutionary ethical teachings, Mary sets out with his disparate disciples on the journey to Jerusalem, where she finds herself at the centre of the story of the Passion. Mary Magdalene is billed as bringing a unique and fascinating character to the fore and placing her at the heart of the greatest story ever told.

Tickets for Mary Magdalene (Savoy Cinema 28th Feb, 18.30) and all the events at ADIFF are available now at www.diff.ie or +353 (0)1 687 7974, and it’s a welcome surprise to see the Savoy back in the ADIFF fold after it’s recent decision to gut its former centrepiece Screen 1.

ADIFF 2018

The full ADIFF 2018 programme has finally been revealed and Bill Pullman, Vanessa Redgrave, Paul Schrader, Cillian Murphy, Barry Keoghan, Lance Daly, Nora Twomey, Paddy Considine, Sandy Powell, and Lynne Ramsay will all be coming to Dublin.  There will be seven World Premieres and a total of over 100 features screened, nearly all receiving their Irish Premiere. Tickets are released for sale at www.diff.ie from 7 pm today and the Box Office is open at 12 East Essex Street (+353 (0) 1 6877974) from 10 am 25^thJan.

Gráinne Humphreys, Festival Director, says “This year’s ADIFF programme is a line-up of films that are rich, exciting and wonderful. They reflect the truly global culture of film-making as well as celebrating the strength and depth of Irish film talent. It’s a selection that aims to inspire and entertain film lovers of every age and taste, including the youngest at Fantastic Flix. Our special guests include some of the finest performers and film-makers in the world and I’m particularly delighted to be welcoming our Volta Award recipients, Paul Schrader and Vanessa Redgrave to Dublin. Alongside the very best of new Irish and international cinema, there are echoes of film history in our silent film presentations and Cedric Gibbons Season, and an amazing glimpse of the future at the Immersive Stories: Conference and Exhibition, which brings the pioneers of virtual and augmented reality creation to Dublin.”

Some strands of the programme have already been covered in previous posts so let’s concentrate on what’s new.

Galas and Special Presentations
The Opening Gala will be the Irish Premiere of Black 47, the most hotly-anticipated Irish film of the year. Lance Daly directs this gripping thriller set during the Famine. Lance Daly and a selection of the cast including James Frecheville, Barry Keoghan, Moe Dunford, and Stephen Rea will attend. One of Hollywood’s finest, Bill Pullman, attends the festival for the Irish Premiere of his new Western The Ballad of Lefty Brown, a superb addition to his distinguished body of cinematic work stretching back three decades. Amongst cinema’s most distinctive filmmakers, Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin, Morvern Callar) visits for the Special Presentation of her Cannes prize-winning thriller You Were Never Really Here. Irish-Spanish co-production, Muse, is a seductive supernatural thriller that was both set and shot in Dublin and will screen as a Special Presentation. Irish director Nora Twomey will attend the long-awaited Irish Premiere Special Presentation of her animated drama The Breadwinner, which has been Oscar-nominated in the Best Animated Feature category for 2018. From Kilkenny’s Cartoon Saloon, this is a powerful story of an Afghan girl passing as a boy to work to help her family survive. Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave will receive one of the two 2018 ADIFF Volta Awards, the festival’s most prestigious award, for her lifetime of achievement in cinema at the Irish Premiere of her passionate new documentary on the refugee crisis, Sea Sorrow. Her co-director and son Carlo Nero will also attend. Paul Schrader will also receive a Volta Award and is honoured for his extensive work as a director and screenwriter. Schrader’s acclaimed new film First Reformed starring Ethan Hawke will receive its Gala Irish Premiere at the festival. Schrader will also give an in-depth Public Talk and, as this year’s Guest Curator, will introduce three classic films that have inspired his work. Rounding off the festival with the ultimate in escapist cinema, ADIFF 2018’s Closing Gala is C’est La Vie. This funny, irreverent and charming French film is Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano’s follow-up to their box-office sensation The Intouchables and will leave festival audiences smiling until 2019.

Guest Highlights
The World Premiere of The Delinquent Season sees one of Ireland’s finest playwrights, Mark O’Rowe, make his debut as film director with a tale of two seemingly successful Dublin couples facing unexpected challenges. The stellar Irish cast includes Cillian Murphy and Eva Birthistle, both of whom will attend the premiere. Stacy Cochran will attend the World Premiere of her new film Write When You Get Work, a witty, knowing tale of success and excess on the Upper East Side, shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood). Three-time Oscar-winning Costume Designer Sandy Powell will visit for two new films that showcase her talents. She will take part in a Q&A after Todd Hayne’s Wonderstruck and introduce John Cameron Mitchell’s How to Talk to Girls at Parties. One of Ireland’s most provocative and challenging film artists, director Alan Gilsenan attends the World Premiere of his visceral and highly-charged new film, The Meeting. Actor/Director Paddy Considine visits the festival for the screening of his second feature as director Journeyman, a raw, powerful boxing drama in which Considine delivers an unforgettable performance. Canadian director Kathleen Hepburn attends the festival for her intimate portrait of grief and independence Never Steady, Never Still. Director Marc Meyers will attend the screening of My Friend Dahmer, a chilling look at the youth of real-life serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

Irish Film and Talent
ADIFF 2018 is packed with Irish talent, with more homegrown highlights with directors in attendance including Irish Premieres of Aoife McArdle’s incendiary debut, Kissing Candice, and Good Favour, the third feature from Rebecca Daly which sees a religious community give shelter to an enigmatic outsider. Director David Freyne will attend the Irish Premiere of his fiendishly clever take on the zombie film, The Cured. Andrew Quirke’s hilarious Dublin double-act hits the big screen with the World Premiere of Damo & Ivor: The Movie.

Crime and Law
French actor-turned-director Xavier Legrand will attend his dazzling debut, Custody, about a court decision that tears a family apart.  Director/co-writer Yves Hinant and his co-writer Jean Libon will attend the screening of So Help Me God, a documentary following the unconventional and sometimes outrageous Belgian judge Anne Gruwez. Warwick Thornton follows his critically-acclaimed Samson & Delilah with an outback Western, Sweet Country. Director Jean-François Hensgens and armed robber-turned-filmmaker François Troukens attend the festival with their slick heist thriller Tueurs/Above the Law. Matthias Heeder attends the screening of Pre-Crime, a documentary exploring ‘protective policing’, a sci-fi staple that is becoming all too real. John McBratney, retired Senior Counsel will chair a special panel discussion on the Crime and Law strand, which also includes The Ciambra, Racer and the Jailbird, The Line, The Meeting and Have a Nice Day.

International Programme
French-language films include Xavier Beauvois’ The Guardians, Laurent Cantet’s The Workshop, Xavier Giannoli’s Apparition and Coralie Fargaet’s Revenge. The wider international selection includes representation from Japan (The Third Murder), Australia (Sweet Country), Indonesia (Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts), Israel (Foxtrot), Ecuador (Yasuni Man), Germany (Casting, In the Fade),Romania (Ana, Mon Amour), Norway (What Will People Say), Argentina (Zama), and Iran (Israfil). The contemporary cinema of Hong Kong is explored in a five-film season, with the support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Belgium, that includes a visit from Angie Chen, director of I’ve Got the Blues. The season will also feature intimate war drama Our Time Will Come, the mysterious crime drama Somewhere Beyond the Mist, the offbeat and tranquil coming-of-age drama The White Girl, and dynamic action thriller Paradox. Actress Anna Krotoska will attend the screening of Polish character-driven psychological thriller Tower: A Bright Day. Selected to celebrate the centenary of Polish Independence, there is a rare chance to see Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s 1977 award-winning Death of the President. Highlights from across the Atlantic include sneak previews of Jennifer Lawrence in Red Sparrow, Wes Anderson’s new animation Isle of Dogs, and Liam Neeson in Watergate drama Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House. British selections include Sebastían Lelio’s Disobedience with Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weisz; Sheila Hancock in Simon Hunter’s Edie; and Emily Mortimer and Bill Nighy in Isabel Coixet’s The Bookshop. Irish rising star Jessie Buckley gives a breakthrough film performance in writer/director Michael Pearce’s dark and delicious new British film Beast. English-language international documentaries include an intimate look at Leon Vitali’s life as Stanley Kubrick’s right hand man in Film-worker, the unexpected treat of a second visit to the Beales of Grey Gardens in That Summer, the swinging sixties narrated by Michael Caine in That Generation, and a magical time capsule of found footage in Bill Morrison’s Dawson City: Frozen Time.

Cedric Gibbons
Dublin-born Cedric Gibbons was the most successful art director in the history of cinema, responsible for MGM’s reputation as Hollywood’s number one ‘dream factory’. ADIFF 2018 celebrates his work with the Cedric Gibbons Retrospective featuring The Big Parade, Dinner at Eight, Grand Hotel, and An American in Paris, as well as a one-day conference at NCAD Gallery from 2^nd March. An exhibition will run at the NCAD Gallery 2^nd-31^st March.

Awards
Film-goers themselves will select their favourite film of the Festival with the AUDI-ence award. The winning film-makers will be flown to the Berlin International Film Festival in 2019 where they will enjoy a true VIP Audi experience. This year’s ADIFF Discovery Award nominees are a testament to the strength of and depth of the new generation of film talent making their mark in a competitive but thriving industry. The nominees are actors Ryan Lincoln (Kissing Candice), Jessie Buckley (Beast), Rory Fleck Byrne (Inbox), Actors/Directors/Writers TJ O’Grady Peyton (Wave) and Liz Quinn (The Date), Director/Cinematographers Rua Meegan & Trevor Whelan (both Bardalo II: A Life of Waste); directors Mia Mullarkey (Mother & Baby), Louise Bagnall (Late Afternoon); and producer Sharon Cronin (Acorn).

Special Events, Shorts and the Surprise Film
One of the most popular and revered slots in the programme, the identity of the Just Eat Surprise Film is a tightly-guarded secret known only to the Festival Director but it always rewards the bold and the brave. The festival has expanded its ADIFF Shorts selections to four programmes of the best short films from Ireland and around the world, featuring both established talent and the next generation of film-makers cutting their teeth. The meeting point between audiences, critics, talent and industry that the festival provides extends far beyond the cinema screen in the ADIFF Special Events. This year’s events will include a Writers’ Masterclass with Laurence Coriat and an Audiences Panel with Ben Luxford, Head of UK Audiences at the British Film Institute. After the success of last year’s exhibition capturing Irish talent, ADIFF will present the second exhibition by Hugh O’Conor featuring intimate portraits of his colleagues in the Irish film industry.

Check out the new ADIFF Podcast at http://bit.ly/2DzwFt3

So, here’s the full ADIFF 2018 schedule, notably lacking any shows in the Savoy; with the Odeon Point and Cineworld 17 stepping into the vacuum left by Savoy 1’s dismemberment – of which more soon.

Wednesday 21^st February
21.00 Black 47   Cineworld 17
Opening Gala

Thursday 22^nd February
Fantastic Flix -11.00 My Neighbour Totoro   Lighthouse 1
14.00 Yasuni Man   Lighthouse 3
18.00 First Reformed  Cineworld 9 
Paul Schrader in attendance
18.00 Our Time Will Come   Lighthouse 3
18.30 Death of the President   Lighthouse 1
20.00 The Breadwinner   Cineworld 17
Featuring Q&A with Nora Twomey
20.30 Somewhere Beyond The Mist   Lighthouse 3
20.45 Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House   Cineworld 9

Friday 23^rd February
14.00 Pickpocket   Lighthouse 1
Introduction by Paul Schrader
16.00 Performance   Lighthouse 1
Introduction by Paul Schrader
16.00 The White Girl   Lighthouse 3
18.15 Beast   Cineworld 9
18.15 Never Steady, Never Still   Lighthouse 1
In attendance: Kathleen Hepburn
18.30 I’ve Got the Blues   Lighthouse 3
In attendance: Angie Chen
20.45 In the Fade   Lighthouse 1
21.00 Paradox   Lighthouse 3
22.45 Revenge   Lighthouse 1

Saturday 24^th February
09.00 Immersive Stories Conference   Round Room, Mansion House
11.00 Dawson City: Frozen Time   Lighthouse 1
12.00 Film Festivals Programmers Speed Dating & Networking Session   Lighthouse Bar
14.00 ADIFF Shorts 1   Lighthouse 3
14.00 An Autumn Afternoon   Lighthouse 1
Introduction by Paul Schrader
16.15 Sweet Country   Lighthouse 1
16.30 That Summer   Lighthouse 3
16.30 The Divine Order   Cineworld 9
18.00 Immersive Stories Exhibition   Round Room, Mansion House
18.15 The Line   Lighthouse 3
18.30 The Lonely Battle of Thomas Reid   Lighthouse 1
Film-maker in attendance
18.45 The Guardians   Cineworld 9
20.00 Immersive Stories Exhibition   Round Room, Mansion House
20.00 The Ballad of Lefty Brown Cineworld 17
In attendance: Bill Pullman
20.30 The Ciambra   Lighthouse 3
20.30 Tueurs / Above the Law   Lighthouse 1
In attendance: François Troukens, Jean-François Hensgens
20.50 Write When You Get Work   Cineworld 9
Stacy Cochran in attendance

Sunday 25^th February
09.00 Immersive Stories Conference   Round Room, Mansion House
11.00 Filmworker   Lighthouse 1
13.00 ADIFF Shorts 2   Lighthouse 1
14.00 Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle   Lighthouse 3
14.00 The Bookshop   Cineworld 9
15.30 What Will People Say   Lighthouse 1
16.15 Wonderful Losers: A Different World   Lighthouse 3
Film-maker in attendance
18.00 Immersive Stories Exhibition   Round Room, Mansion House
18.00 Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts   Cineworld 9
18.00 Thirst Street   Lighthouse 3
In attendance: Nathan Silver
18.30 Behind the Door   Lighthouse 1
Musical accompaniment: Stephen Horne
20.00 Immersive Stories Exhibition   Round Room, Mansion House
20.10 The Workshop   Lighthouse 2
20.15 The Cured   Lighthouse 1
David Freyne in attendance

Monday 26^th February
13.30 The Big Parade   IFI
17.00 Casting   Pavilion Theatre
18.10 Madame   Cineworld 9
18.15 Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts   Lighthouse 3
18.15 The Rider   Lighthouse 1
18.30 The Science of Ghosts   IFI
Film-maker in attendance
20.00 The Divine Order   Pavilion Theatre
20.30 ADIFF Shorts 3   Lighthouse 3
20.30 Tower: A Bright Day   Cineworld 9
20.30 You Were Never Really Here   Lighthouse 1
In attendance: Lynne Ramsay

Tuesday 27^th February
13.30 Dinner At Eight   IFI
18.10 The Summit   Lighthouse 1
18.15 My Generation   Cineworld 9
18.30 Pre-Crime   Lighthouse 3
In attendance: Matthias Heeder
18.30 Phantom Islands   IFI
Film-maker in attendance
20.30 Good Favour   Lighthouse 1
Filmmaker in attendance
20.45 Israfil   Lighthouse 3

Wednesday 28^th February
13.30 Grand Hotel   IFI
16.00 ADIFF Shorts 4   Lighthouse 2
Featuring ADIFF Awards presentation
17.50 Twilight   Lighthouse 2
In attendance: Pat Collins
Fantastic Flix – 18.15 Lean On Pete   Cineworld 9
18.30 Custody   Lighthouse 1
In attendance: Xavier Legrand
18.30 Isle of Dogs   Cineworld 17
18.45 While You Live, Shine   Lighthouse 2
In attendance: Paul Duane
20.30 Red Sparrow   Cineworld 17
20.45 Muse   Lighthouse 1
20.45 Zama   Lighthouse 3
20.45 Thoroughbreds   Cineworld 9

Thursday 1^st March
French Producer’s Summit   The Digital Hub
10.00 Careers Day   IFI
Fantastic Flix – 10.00 Cloudboy   Omniplex Rathmines
Fantastic Flix – 13.00 At Eye Level   Movies@Dundrum
16.00 Catch the Wind   Lighthouse 1
18.10 Wonderstruck   Cineworld 9
Film-maker in attendance
18.15 Disobedience   Lighthouse 1
18.15 The Image You Missed   Lighthouse 2
In attendance: Donal Foreman
20.30 Ana, Mon Amour   Lighthouse 3
20.30 Foxtrot   Lighthouse 1
20.45 Apparition / L’Apparition   Cineworld 9

Friday 2^nd March
Fantastic Flix – 10.00 Vampirina   Lighthouse 3
Film-maker in attendance
Fantastic Flix – 11.00 Rum 213    Omniplex Rathmines
In attendance: Wilma Lundgren
Fantastic Flix – 11.30 Cloudboy   Lighthouse 3
Fantastic Flix – 12.30 Liyana   Movies@Dundrum
13.30 An American in Paris   IFI
14.00 Writers’ Workshop Laurence Coriat   Brooks Hotel Cinema
18.10 Damo & Ivor: The Movie   Cineworld 17
Film-maker in attendance
In attendance: Rob Burke, Ronan Burke & Cast
18.10 The Other Side of Everything   Lighthouse 3
18.15 The Camino Voyage   IFI
In attendance: Dónal Ó Céilleachair
18.15 Hannah   Light House 1
20.30 Have a Nice Day   Lighthouse 3
20.30 The Third Murder   Cineworld 9
20.45 Kissing Candice   Lighthouse 1
In attendance: Aoife McArdle

Saturday 3^rd March
Fantastic Flix -11.00 Fantastic Flix Shorts Omniplex   Rathmines / Lighthouse 3
Fantastic Flix -11.00 Mary and the Witch’s Flower   Lighthouse 1
12.00 Judicial Review: Law on Film
13.15 So Help Me God   Lighthouse 1
In attendance: Yves Hinant, Jean Libon
13.50 Casting   Lighthouse 3
14.00 Catalyst Case Study – Kissing Candice   Bow St Academy
15.45 The Meeting   Lighthouse 1
16.00 Sea Sorrow   Cineworld 17
In attendance: Vanessa Redgrave and Carlo Nero

16.00 How to Talk to Girls At Parties   Lighthouse 3
Sandy Powell in attendance
18.10 Sicilian Ghost Story   Cineworld 9
18.15 A Mother Brings Her Son to Be Shot   Lighthouse 1
In attendance: Sinéad O’Shea
18.30 Journeyman   Lighthouse 2
Film-maker in attendance
20.30 The Delinquent Season   Lighthouse 1
Mark O’Rowe, Cillian Murphy, and Eva Birthistle in attendance
20.45 A Prayer Before Dawn   Cineworld 9

Sunday 4^th March
Fantastic Flix -11.00 The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales   Light House 1
In attendance: Patrick Imbert
12.00 Edie   Light House 3
12.00 Vanessa Redgrave Volta Presentation   The Gate
13.30 Racer and the Jailbird   Cineworld 9
14.00 The Italian Straw Hat (The Horse Ate the Hat)   Light House 1
Musical accompaniment: Günter A. Buchwald, Matthew Jacobson, Nick Roth, Derek Whyte
16.10 My Friend Dahmer   Cineworld 9
16.15 A Gentle Creature   Light House 1
17.00 Just Eat Surprise Film   Odeon Point
Featuring special presentation
19.00 Under the Tree   Light House 1
20.00 C’est La Vie   Cineworld 17
Closing Gala

Exhibitions:
Wednesday 21^st February – Sunday 4^th March
Celebrating Irish Talent Exhibition   Powerscourt Town Centre

Friday 2^nd March – Saturday 31^st March
Cedric Gibbons Exhibition   NCAD Galway

Wednesday 21^st February – Sunday 4^th March
Exhibition: Brown Bag Films Behind the Scenes   Lighthouse

Wednesday 21^st February – Sunday 4^th March
NCAD Exhibition   Lighthouse

ADIFF 2018: Irish Documentaries

The announcement of the main ADIFF programme is  just under a week away, but a taste is being given with this year’s Irish documentary line-up being released early.

Festival Director, Gráinne Humphreys said ‘This year’s Irish documentary line-up, full of World and Irish Premieres, reveals a preoccupation with the tensions between long-held traditions and the contemporary society. These extraordinary films ask questions of what we can treasure and protect, what can be re-invented, and what we need to learn to let go of. These profound and searching documentaries give a glimpse of what’s in store when the full ADIFF programme is announced on 24^th January’.

One farmer’s courageous struggle to maintain a centuries-old lifestyle in the shadow of a huge multinational is traced in the Irish Premiere of Feargal Ward’s The Lonely Battle of Thomas Reid; the walk of the Camino is re-invented as a Kerry curragh sea journey in the Irish Premiere of Dónal Ó’Céilleachair’s The Camino Voyage, featuring Brendan Begley and Glen Hansard; and Paul Duane traces a hypnotic musical journey that brings us to the earliest Western music still in existence in the World Premiere of While You Live, Shine. The survival of dissident Republican vigilantism in pockets of the North, is explored in the Irish Premiere of Sinéad O’Shea’s much-anticipated A Mother Brings Her Son to Be Shot. The Troubles also reverberate through the Irish Premiere of Donal Foreman’s The Image You Missed, which sees the filmmaker grapple with the legacy of his estranged father, Arthur MacCaig, and the decades-spanning archive of the conflict in Northern Ireland that he created.

Each year the Arts Council’s Reel Art scheme, in association with ADIFF and Filmbase, commissions two films that offer filmmakers a chance to make highly creative, imaginative, and experimental documentaries on an artistic theme. Receiving their World Premieres at this year’s festival in the IFI are Rouzbeh Rashidi’s Phantom Islands, a visceral exploration of the boundaries between documentary and fiction, and Niall McCann’s reflective encounter with Irish musician and artist Adrian Crowley in The Science of Ghosts. Finally major Irish filmmaker Pat Collins returns to the documentary form with Twilight, a beautiful evocation of the end of day that was filmed over two years in Baltimore, West Cork.

Tickets for the Irish documentaries at ADIFF are available now at (www.diff.ie or 01 687 7974).

Season Tickets are also now on sale alongside tickets for the Fantastic Flix young people’s programme, the Paul Schrader season, the Surprise Film, Immersive Stories: Conference and Exhibition, and the silent film presentations in association with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. The full ADIFF Programme will be released on Jan 24^th.

Irish Documentaries at ADIFF 2018 – Schedule

Saturday 24^th February
18.30 The Lonely Battle of Thomas Reid   Lighthouse 1
Filmmaker in attendance: Feargal Ward

Monday 26^th February
18.30 The Science of Ghosts   IFI
Filmmaker in attendance: Niall McCann

Tuesday 27^th February
18.30 Phantom Islands   IFI
In attendance: Rouzbeh Rashidi

Wednesday 28^th February
17.50 Twilight   Lighthouse 2
In attendance: Pat Collins

18.45 While You Live, Shine   Lighthouse 2
In attendance: Paul Duane

Thursday 1^st March
18.15 The Image You Missed   Lighthouse 2
In attendance: Donal Foreman

Friday 2^nd March
18.15 The Camino Voyage   IFI
In attendance: Dónal Ó Céilleachair

Saturday 3^rd March
18.15 A Mother Brings Her Son to Be Shot   Lighthouse 1
In attendance: Sinéad O’Shea

ADIFF 2018: Paul Schrader

Acclaimed director and screenwriter Paul Schrader will receive the prestigious Volta Award and present his new film First Reformed at the Audi Dublin International Film Festival 2018.

Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried and Paul Schrader during the ‘First Reformed’ photocall at the 74th Venice International Film Festival at the Palazzo del Casino on August 31, 2017 in Venice, Italy

Paul Schrader, renowned director of Blue Collar, Hardcore, American Gigolo, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, The Comfort of Strangers, Light Sleeper, The Canyons and Affliction, and screenwriter of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, will visit the Audi Dublin International Film Festival (21st Feb- 4th March) to receive a Volta Award at the Irish Premiere of his new film First Reformed on Thurs 22^nd February 2018 at 6pm, and will also curate a special season of screenings and events that includes an in-depth Public Interview.

Gráinne Humphreys, Festival Director, says “Paul Schrader started his career as one of the talented young filmmakers who were at the centre of an extraordinary renaissance of American cinema in the 1970s. Schrader has also had a remarkable career as a director and, as a critic, he’s a passionate advocate and interrogator of film culture. I know my excitement at his visit and the Irish Premiere of First Reformed will be shared by many of Dublin’s cinema fans and we’re delighted to be honouring him with ADIFF’s prestigious Volta Award”. Previous winners of ADIFF’s Volta Award include Al Pacino, Julie Andrews, Danny DeVito, Daniel Day-Lewis, Joss Whedon, Brendan Gleeson, Angela Lansbury, Stanley Tucci, Stellan Skarsgård, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Ennio Morricone. The Award is named after Ireland’s first dedicated cinema, the Volta Picture Theatre on Mary Street in Dublin, which was opened on the 20^th December 1909 by an enterprising young novelist named James Joyce.

In First Reformed, ex-military chaplain Toller (Ethan Hawke) is tortured by the loss of the son he encouraged to enlist and struggles with his faith. A faith that’s challenged by befriending a radical environmentalist, Michael, and upon learning of his church’s complicity with unscrupulous corporations.

Schrader will also be this year’s ADIFF Guest Curator, selecting and introducing three films that have inspired his own work as a filmmaker including Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket (1959), Yasujirō Ozu’s An Autumn Afternoon (1962), and Donald Cammell & Nicolas Roeg’s Performance (1970).

Tickets for the Irish Premiere of First Reformed and the Paul Schrader season are available now via the ADIFF Box Office (www.diff.ie or 01 687 7974). Discount packages are available for the full Paul Schrader season and for First Reformed + the Paul Schrader Public Talk.

SCHEDULE Paul Schrader – ADIFF 2018 Guest Curator

Thursday 22^nd February
18.00 (Cineworld) First Reformed (Irish Premiere with Q&A and Volta Award Presentation)

Friday 23^rd February
14.00 (Lighthouse Cinema)  – Pickpocket (1959), introduced by Paul Schrader
16.00 (Lighthouse Cinema) – Performance (1970), introduced by Paul Schrader
18.45 (O’Reilly Theatre) – Paul Schrader Public Interview 

Saturday 24^th February
14.00 (Lighthouse Cinema) – An Autumn Afternoon (1962), introduced by Paul Schrader

ADIFF: Immersive Stories Bursary

Creative Director Aoife Doyle and Producer Niamh Herrity of Pink Kong Studios alongside writer Denis James Ryan were together awarded a bursary to a value of €30,000 by ADIFF, Screen Training Ireland & Audi Ireland to produce their virtual reality concept The Tundra which will premiere as part of Immersive Stories: Conference & Exhibition at the Audi Dublin International Film Festival 2018.

 

The award was made after a competitive pitching process at the Immersive Content Creation Event and Hackathon that took place in Dublin on 23^rd & 24^th September. The industry participants’ electric response to the event that featured keynote speakers such as VR pioneer and Head of Submarine Channel Michel Reilhac and Emmy Award-winning VR director Stefan Grambart demonstrates the excitement that new technological platforms and new forms of storytelling are generating in the Irish film, TV and media production sector. ADIFF TV has just released a video report giving a taste of the weekend and what’s to come in next year’s Audi Dublin International Film Festival.

ADIFF Festival Director Gráinne Humphreys said “In partnership with Audi, our title sponsor and Screen Training Ireland we’re proud to be at the forefront of mapping out new ways of imagining stories and experiences for new technological platforms. We were delighted with the high standard of competing projects for the bursary and we’re looking forward to seeing our winning project, The Tundra from Pink Kong Studios’, develop in the run-up to the 2018 Audi Dublin International Film Festival where it will premiere as part of our Immersive Stories: Conference & Exhibition. Curated by Eoghan Cunneen from Lucasfilm, this major new addition to the programme will bring a variety of keynote speakers and an interactive VR arcade.”

Richard Molloy, Head of Marketing and Product for Audi Ireland said: “Audi Ireland would like to extend its congratulations to the winning entry, The Tundra from Pink Kong Studios. We were particularly inspired by their creative interpretation of the project theme ‘25^th Hour’ and very much look forward to the premiere of the virtual reality concept as part of the 2018 Audi Dublin International Film Festival. Furthermore, the high standard of all entries confirms Ireland’s exciting future in this emerging and expanding industry” 

Aoife Doyle, Creative Director of Pink Kong Studios said “We’re over the moon to have had our piece The Tundra chosen as the winner of the ADIFF award for VR short. Virtual Reality is something we’ve been wanting to explore in the studio for some time. We’re super excited to now have the opportunity to create our first VR film with the support of the Audi Dublin International Film Festival and Screen Training Ireland.”

The winning concept responded to the theme set by Audi of the ‘25^th hour’, the hour many will gain due to the future arrival of self-driving cars. The judging panel included actor, filmmaker and photographer Hugh O’Conor on behalf of ADIFF, Emmy-award-winning VR director Stefan Grambart and Richard Molloy, Head of Marketing & Product, Audi Ireland.

Screen Training Ireland is a long-term partner of the Audi Dublin International Film Festival. Their partnership has developed significantly with this project: together developing creative and innovative ways to address training needs within the screen sector. This collaboration will continue into ADIFF 2018 where Immersive Stories: Conference & Exhibition will benefit from Screen Training Ireland’s support and expertise.

Curator of the Immersive Stories: Conference & Exhibition, Eoghan Cunneen, is a Senior Software Engineer at Lucasfilm Ltd’s Advanced Development Group where he has worked on Star Wars: Trials on Tatooine and Alejandro Iñarritu’s highly acclaimed Carne y Arena, the first virtual reality experience to be included at the Festival de Cannes in May 2017. Eoghan is also the co-founder of the Irish VFX + Animation Summit and previously worked at Academy Award-winning visual effects studio Framestore where he worked on titles such as Gravity, Paddington, RoboCop and Clash of the Titans.

Register your interest in attending Immersive Stories: Conference & Exhibition during the 2018 festival at the Audi Dublin International Film Festival Website here.

Here Comes ADIFF

The Audi Dublin International Film Festival 2017 (16^th-26^th Feb) opens tonight with the Gala Irish Premiere of hotly-anticipated Irish-Canadian co-production Maudie, featuring Ethan Hawke and Sally Hawkins, finally making its Irish homecoming after international critical acclaim. Director Aisling Walsh will attend the screening for a Q&A in front of an audience that includes festival-goers, film-makers, and industry professionals.

Film fans have 11 days of cinema ahead with an array of top talent coming to Dublin to present  films from around the world and some key Irish films from the year ahead.

Highlights of the first weekend include the Gala Screening of Jim Sheridan’s The Secret Scripture with a host of special guests, the World Premiere of Jamie Thraves’ Pickups with actor Aidan Gillen in attendance, Tindersticks front-man Stuart Staples will present his brilliant new project Minute Bodies: The Intimate World of F, Percy Smith, and New Zealand actress Kerry Fox will appear at the Irish premiere of The Rehearsal and join us for a look back at her breakthrough role in Jane Campion’s An Angel At My Table. On Monday 20^th Feb the festival hosts the Centrepiece Gala screening of new Irish documentary In Loco Parentis, and the Cineworld Gala World Premiere of new Irish horror Nails with Ross Noble, Shauna MacDonald, and Leah McNamara in attendance. On Wednesday 22nd Feb, the festival hosts the Irish premiere of Unless, a new Irish-Canadian film starring Catherine Keener, with director Alan Gilsenan in attendance.

The Audi Gala of Free Fire on Thurs 23rd Feb sees Kill List and High-Rise maestro Ben Wheatley return to the festival, joined by Irish cast members Jack Reynor and Cillian Murphy. Friday 24^th Feb sees a special tribute to John Hurt with the first Irish screening of his performance in 2014’s Snowpiercer, which wasn’t released here after much controversy over its re-cutting for American audiences, while Anna Friel appears with director Juanita Wilson at a Special Presentation screening of Tomato Red.

The Festival’s final day sees no let up in activity with a Special Presentation of Indonesian martial arts star Iko Uwais’s new film Headshot, the Special Presentation World Premiere of Emer Reynolds The Farthest with an appearance from Voyager Program project manager John Casani, the much-speculated-about Surprise Film, and the Closing Gala Irish Premiere of John Butler’s Handsome Devil.