Discoveries from Ireland World Cinema

A young Dublin girl spots Bono everywhere until she finally meets him in the shop where she works.

On March 30th 2006, after a life-time of dedication to his art, John McGahern, one of Ireland's most distinguished writers, sadly passed away after a long illness. Since the publication of his first book in 1963, John McGahern was at the cultural heart of Irish life. He was in the happy position of being universally praised by the critics and equally loved by the reading public. John McGahern: A Private World was filmed in 2004 just prior to the publication of his memoirs and these memoirs form the backbone of the documentary. Through intimate interviews, a strong and compelling sense of the man emerges, offering a rare insight into the creative process.

A recovering addict’s world falls apart when a mysterious box of cereal enters his life.

AYT Senior present a complete performance of Oscar Wilde’s Salomé

Hapless wedding videographers Wacker and Tony find themselves unexpectedly dealing with a dead body, overly-enthusiastic Gardaí, fertility treatments, and a vengeful gangster - oh, and an imminent wedding. Based on a compilation of O’Carroll’s own experiences as a wedding videographer back in the day, the film is a buddy movie slash crime capper with the good guys coming out on top at the end, but not without the sense that the entire thing could go up in flames every other minute. Murphy and Bermingham have great chemistry that has you rooting for them from beginning to end.

An artificial intelligence reckons with the concept of self after studying the human experience through film.

When shy teenager Ben bumps into his crush Caroline at a Halloween party, the night takes a strange turn.

An iconic presence in the landscape of Irish socialism and republicanism, the name of James Connolly looms large in the trade union movement, and wherever radical left-wing politics are espoused. This film tries to bring Connolly’s many achievements in the field of workers’ and women’s rights into the fore, alongside his role in the 1916 Easter uprising.

The two-part feature film 'Masquerades of Research: Part I and II' is a fictional biography of pre-queer sociologist Laud Humphreys, author of the infamous book 'Tearoom Trade: Impersonal Sex in Public Places' (1970, 1975). Part I begins in St. Louis in 1967 in a pre-Stonewall and pre-Watergate USA, exploring the impetus behind Humphreys “Sociologist as Voyeur” research method — a still radical gesture and one of the first in the Western canon to turn the ethnographic gaze back onto the hypocritical conservative mindset that created it. Why can’t statistics be avant-garde? Part II begins in his Californian office in 1975, where we find Humphreys sweating in a radically different USA on the cusp of republishing 'Tearoom Trade'. Its relevance to contemporary discussions of intimacy, social presentation and data control is delicately carried by visual intensities and rich performances that keep as many secrets as they give away.

In advance of his fight with Al 'Blue' Lewis at Croke Park in Dublin, Cathal O'Shannon interviews Muhammad Ali about boxing, and his life outside the ring. When a fight is coming up Muhammad Ali (formally Cassius Marcellus Clay, junior) admits he deliberately intimidates his opponent. He does this because historically in America black people have always been taught to be subservient.

A rural family contends with a deceased uncle who refuses to stay in his grave.

Vienna, at the close of World War II. An intriguing relationship between a priest and a wealthy Jewish woman. Both tender and violent, a story of faith, love and service. Based on the life of an Irish catholic priest who was a Chaplain in the RAF.

Following his father's unusual and sudden death, Glen is on a mission to go after those responsible.

A husband and father struggles to keep his family in the comfortable lifestyle to which they have grown accustomed while keeping his financial worries secret from them.

A crossed telephone line propels Receiver into a suite of heated and intimate conversations in which we encounter scenes of protest at a university for D/deaf students, Q&A cross-fire interrogation, vocal confrontations and lip-reading practice.In its various moods the film presents a heady and multi-layered assemblage of Deaf histories, to consider how we both speak and listen, and the question of who has the right and capacity to be heard.

Three life models pose naked for an artist. They are Kate Dunne, Dylan Jon Matthews, and Izabella Linuza. We see them pose naked as the artist draws and paints them. They tell us about how they got into life modeling, what it feels like to stand naked in front of strangers, body image, and sexual issues. We explore the ancient and mysterious relationship between the artist and the life model. At the end, Dylan draws Kate and Izabella naked. Then Kate and Izabella draw Dylan naked. We demonstrate the similarities and differences between the male gaze and the female gaze.

A man dies and goes to Heaven, only to discover that it's being run on slave labor from Hell.

‘Flicker’ is a portrait of Danny (Peter Newington), a typical twenty-something Dubliner, who gets assaulted one night in a city centre nightclub. Escaping the incident with only minor injuries, Danny throws himself back into his old routine: early-morning classes, five-a-side football, late nights on the sesh with the lads. Pretty soon, however, Danny begins to realise that the assault has affected him in more ways than one.

A financially struggling sound technician overhears the private phone call of a famous soap actress, Daiva. Their relationship is put to the test as he decides whether or not to sell her story to the press.

While on a weekend away in a guest house, a couple play a game that has supernatural consequences.

In 1960s rural Ireland, a priest is called to the bedside of a parishioner, the wife of a prominent politician. She has just given birth. Whilst her husband has gone out to celebrate, she confides a secret in the priest and asks for help.

A lone man avenges the death of his father.

After the untimely death of his 35-year old brother, an artist explores the questions that surfaced from grief by painting 365 paintings and to spur conversation in culture.

Foil Arms and Hog's 'SkiddlyWup', live at Vicar Street. See Irelands top comedy trio in Full 1080p HD perform to over a thousand people in their hometown of Dublin. Includes sketches: 'Undercover agent in Africa', 'Audience in the Living Room' and 'Paper Bags' amongst others.

Christmas in Dickensian London. Curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by three ghostly spectres. Their mission: his redemption.

A Terrible Beauty is the story of the men and women of the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916, Irish and British, caught up in a conflict many did not understand and of the innocent men and boys, executed because of what transpired in The Battle of Mount Street Bridge. The British soldiers were the last of the Great War volunteers, who joined up together to fight the Germans. They knew that there was a strong chance they would die in France, but to die in Dublin would never have crossed their minds. The Irish Volunteers were weekend warriors many of whom had no idea they were about to take part in large scale battles on the streets of Dublin.

How does dating and finding love work in an era where partnership has been radically redefined? All people share the yearning to connect and belong with others and the hope of experiencing genuine intimacy. Our three protagonists Sarah (Austria), Johanna (Germany) and Sampsa (Finland) search for love in very different ways and show that having faith in the most unusual of methods can open up undreamed of opportunities.

In a world that is constantly connected, we watch the breakdown in communication at it's simplest form

The Last Elk re-imagines the story of the last of the wild Irish elk. Each animal is represented by a different musical sound; the elk experience peace, alongside harshness and strife, but always remain harmonious.

This short film is a celebration of Irish rain. A bride-to-be recalls pivotal moments in her relationship that all took place in a shower a drizzle or a downpour.

In 2018 on the steps of the High Court in Dublin, Vicky Phelan gave a now infamous address where she exposed one of the worst women’s health scandals in Irish History, the CervicalCheck debacle. VICKY is a profound and intimate journey into not only her fight to expose the truth of what happened for all women but also her own personal fight to stay alive.

Army corporal Liam and his wife live on a housing estate at the edge of a small Irish town. Late one night Liam arrives home drunk, and the bitter arguments that develop between them result in a series of flashbacks from which life-changing secrets emerge.

A young soprano tries to keep her hearing loss a secret during the opening week of an avant-garde production of Puccini's 'Madame Butterfly'.

A young boxer's secret is exposed. Gavin Quinn believes his participation at the Olympics is at risk, because his true identity is publicly revealed.

This was a labour of love combining the work of some incredible artists to bring Máire Mhac an tSaoi’s poetry into the medium of film. Deargdhúil: Anatomy of Passion explores the life, work and sensual poetic imagination of the revolutionary Irish poet Máire Mhac an tSaoi. Born in 1922, her story is set against a backdrop of a tumultuous century in Irish history in which she and her family were centrally involved. At a time when women's voices were being silenced, the native tradition in the Irish language was her stage to explore the depths of female sexuality and experience without shame. Featuring the movement poetry of performance artist Maureen Fleming, interview by Louis de Paor, poetry voiced by Máire Mhac an tSaoi, Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, autobiography script voiced by Olwen Fouéré.

This remarkable documentary, made over a nine year period, charts the story of Bernadette Devlin McAliskey’s political journey since her explosive entry into the public arena in the late sixties. Combining archive footage with a series of intimate interviews conducted with Devlin McAliskey, director Lelia Doolan perfectly encapsulates the idiosyncrasies and rebelliousness which has fuelled her subject’s pivotal role at the heart of civil rights, feminism and socialism in Northern Ireland. Bernadette is a fascinating and powerful account of this firebrand figure, an impressively rounded depiction of a woman blessed with incredible eloquence, clarity and firm socialist principles.

Three siblings are on the verge of a tragic event during the Irish civil war.

In a deeply personal authored documentary, producer, broadcaster and gay activist Bill Hughes tells the story of his friendship with radio and TV star Vincent Hanley.

Peppi finally gets her chance to earn the favour of her peers when their rockstar idol comes to stay at Peppi’s father’s hotel.

The exploits of V-Dandy, a young gay man in Cork who is being pursued by both his homophobic father and the so-called Gay Mafia.

Taking a pub crawl through 1990s Derry (N. Ireland) under the ever watchful eye of the British Army, That sanity be kept explores being young and getting drunk during a ceasefire.

An animated short film inspired by James Joyce's 'Ulysses.'

Can Tadhg help Donna find a remembrance?

Each year on the last Sunday of July one of the oldest pilgrimages in Ireland takes place. Pilgrims come from the surrounding countryside to ascend the 2,510 feet of Croagh Patrick. It has been traditional for certain people to climb the mountain at night and this is where the film begins.

The lives of millions of Christians around the world have been changed through the ministry of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. But how much do those of us who esteem him so highly really know about Charles Spurgeon, the man? What were the events that shaped his life and made him the man who would be known as the Prince of Preachers? Through the Eyes of Spurgeon invites you to explore with us where and how Spurgeon lived, to follow his steps, to embrace the legacy he has left us.

A couple embark on a journey in the midst of a family crisis.

An old woman in a rocking chair listens to a disembodied voice (her own) that recounts her life and that of her mother's. When the voice stops, she calls for more.

Luke, a closeted young man caring for his father with MS, must confront his fears of coming out when a queer healthcare assistant enters their lives.

Tragedy strikes a group of friends when a beloved dog dies, the only question is who, why and how !?

An old play starring Brendan Gleeson. Released in 1998. From the acclaimed 1990s Irish-language TV series, which starred Brendan Gleeson, Mick Lally, & Ruth McCabe. Set in a famine workhouse, Tales... dramatises the interwoven lives of characters caught up in the disaster of the Great Famine. It is directed by Louis Lentin, whose film Dear Daughter first revealed abuse in state institutions.

Two oppositonal strangers find themselves trapped in a mysterious room where they are separated from one another by a curtain, and are plagued by confusing visions and flashes to an alternate realm where they may not be as unknown to one another as it seemed.

Two friends on a camping trip encounter a terrifying force on the final night of their journey

As the prospect of marriage, children, and the threat of domesticity are thrust upon a young Irish woman in an arranged marriage, she begins to crack, and is forced to reckon with her true identity.

An irreverent nativity tale in which a woman seeks divine intervention when she thinks she is pregnant but is unsure who the father is.

A frustrated shopkeeper's quick thinking helps him get the upper hand in battling a shoplifting epidemic.

Fifty years since the start of The Troubles, the film captures the remarkable history of the Irish national rugby union team, which despite violence, opposition and partition in Ireland, has brought together players and fans from two countries and united them on and off the rugby pitch. BT Sport ambassador, and former Ireland and British & Irish Lions captain Brian O’Driscoll, takes viewers on a powerful journey as he explores how Irish rugby manages to navigate and nurture a successful team through the years of violence that have claimed the lives of more than 3,500 people. Ireland has been divided not just on a map but by politics, history and religion. However, the Irish Rugby Union has continued to be the governing body of rugby, leading to the remarkable situation of players from two countries competing as one.

Aoife is a thirteen-year-old girl, living with an alcoholic father and taking care of him since her mother has left home. Against what seems like overwhelming evidence, she believes that he is trying his best to give up drinking and that on this particular day he will remember her birthday.

When an under-twelves hurling team and their coach get lost on their way to a match, they encounter... The Braineater.

Evan, a troubled college student with behaviour issues is faced with a moral dilemma after discovering his fathers deranged secret; what happens when you get what you wish for?

Gilsenan’s latest work is a non-narrative film, inspired by a new translation of the seminal Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō by the Irish translator, poet and scholar Andrew Fitzsimons. It is – in equal parts – a journey through contemporary Japan, a cinematic act of psycho-geography, a meditation on the devastating impact of climate change and a profound reflection on the meaning of ‘home’ in today’s uneasy global world.