Discoveries from Ireland World Cinema

In a psychiatrist’s office, a young man whose life has been all but ruined by anxious thoughts comes to a new and frightening conclusion about his condition.

Four small-town people, tied together by new and old relationships, come together to tangle, fight, sing, talk, smoke, drink, argue, laugh, leave and return - and stumble towards the reality that their lives are finally changing, whether they like it or not.

Nuala Ni Bhraonáin, electronics whiz, is a stylish woman about town in Dublin of 1981. She's invented the 'Reilly 9000', the world's first calculator with a square root function. Donnchadh is her flatmate and an egomaniacal Gaeilgóir poet with an unfortunate penchant for plagiarism -- and Rita, one of Nuala's workmates, makes the mistake of getting between Donnchadh and the top prize in Slógadh.

My first short film.

Callum Walsh makes his highly anticipated homecoming to Ireland at Dublin’s 3Arena. The Cork native defends his WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight title in a main event bout against Przemyslaw Runowski. In the co-main event, Ali Akhmedov and Pierre Hubert Dibombe compete in a 10-round Super Middleweight bout.

ANTHONY (8)- A young school child who is struggling with Dyslexia is constantly belittled, ignored and bullied by his class mates, teachers and even school principles. If this continues he faces a life living in the shadows of success. Until, one day someone steps in and changes his life forever. Even though he doesn't even know it, yet.

An unflinching and poignant insight into the trials and tribulations, both personal and sporting, of the women on the forefront of Ireland's burgeoning Roller Derby scene.

Ireland has gone MMA mad. The new wave of fighters will be better than ever.

In the mystical woods, whispers of a Bigfoot-like legend swirl, captivating the imagination of locals. Enter Fred, an ambitious entrepreneur thriving on Bigfoot tourism. When a relentless debt collector threatens to seize Fred's livelihood--the iconic Bigfoot tour van--he faces the battle of his life to save his business and home, preventing him and loyal friend Paddy from the brink of homelessness. Fred's last hope lies in two unexpected allies: the spirited tourist Marty and her adventurous companion Ger. Together, they embark on a thrilling quest, but standing in their way is the cunning cryptozoology expert, Rheinhold, who harbours secrets that could change everything.

Joe is unhappy with his life and when he gets turned into a vampire he's offered the perfect chance to escape... but he soon realises that he can't escape himself.

Female, 23 years old, seeks male for relationship without speaking. That's how the advert is worded by Dara, a girl in the west of Ireland. Before long, she meets a young man called Senan and together they embark on a kind of silent adventure. There's something about him she doesn't know, but he's not going to be chatty about it.

A musical momedy about five reluctant student dentists whose eyes are opened to the cruel consolations of their career by a sadistic tutor. Warning: this might hurt a little.

A deadpan sci-fi, interweaving moments of familiar routine with esoteric messages from deep space.

This wonderfully entertaining dance documentary tells the extraordinary story of how Irish dance developed over centuries from a traditional peasant dance to a form that has taken the world by storm and is enjoyed by tens of millions. The film shows how Irish dance has both been influenced by and influenced the dance of many cultures and how it developed as an expression of resistance.

‘William McKeown: Idir Neamh agus Talamh’ is a meditation on the work of Irish artist William McKeown (1962-2011), who developed a body of work that has had a radical and fundamental effect on our understanding of the age-old relationship of art to nature, steering our attention not to the distant sky but to the air around us, to the openness of nature, the feeling of our emergence into light and our proximity to the infinite.

A journey through an allegorical world of the senses.

Five friends head out for a holiday to a remote island off the coast of Ireland and visit an abandoned hostel. As the night draws in and they fool around with a séance, the friends come to realise they are not alone...

The world is poisoned. A sacrificial population is tasked with carving out a clean passage with neon lights between pockets of surviving civilisation. One 'runner' dares to race for her life against all the odds. NEON is a break-neck, cyberpunk action sci-fi set in a future decaying world.

A four-part filmed presentation of Staging The Treaty by ANU Productions - a live recording of the long-form theatre performance re-staging the Dáil Debates of (1921–1922) at the original location where they took place in Earlsfort Terrace. Based on adaptation of original transcripts by Theo Dorgan, directed by Louise Lowe in 2022 and filmed by Tiny Ark. THE PURGE (99 mins): DAYS 9–11. As the Debate unfolds, key figures outline what is it stake. Former comrades are turning into bitter enemies. Chaos is threatening on all sides.

A little boy is sent to bed. Fears begin but no one really cares. But someone is watching.

Dramatic adaptation of J.M. Synge's 1907 collection of journal entries regarding the geography and people of the Aran Islands.

What might it be like to be a horse? Not just any horse, but a top-end racehorse in Ireland? This is the question Horses explores, following three promising, charismatic horses over the course of one rather difficult racing year, bringing us into their world and revealing their distinct individual characters. Beautiful, unusual, and highly entertaining, the film combines the drama of a sports movie with the exploration of an ancient human obsession, offering a subtle critique of humanity's quirks on the side. (Storyville)

A disgruntled grandfather unexpectedly bonds with his college age granddaughter after she asks him a question.

A young biracial boy seeks to reconnect with his estranged grandmother.

A grieving art student gets back in touch with his creativity but soon finds everything he sketches begins to take life coincidentally just outside his window. But could it be merely just that?

Ziggy and Teddy, living on an isolated island, are faced with the prospect of a two-kilometre lockdown due to the Covid pandemic. Far from being distraught by the impending isolation, Ziggy and Teddy react in the most hilarious of ways.

Earth. Wind. Fire. Water. Sacrifice. In Animal Kingdom a ritual carves a dimension that melds character, object, landscape and the very tactile makeup of the film itself into one mutating, symphonic mass of spell casting, storytelling, living and dying. An explosive account of cinema as witchcraft.

Fairytale of Kathmandu is a 2007 documentary by Neasa Ní Chianáin. The documentary focused on visits by the poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh to Nepal during which he had close relationships with many young boys of 16 years old or younger. The documentary questioned whether Ó Searcaigh's relationships with these youths were exploitative and whether they demonstrated a power and wealth imbalance between the 50 year old Ó Searcaigh and the young Nepalese. Ó Searcaigh is presented in the documentary as paying for the housing, food, bicycles and clothing of boys at most 16 years old. He mentions on camera having sex with some of them, denying that he abused them or that he coerced them into having sex with him.

A four-part filmed presentation of Staging The Treaty by ANU Productions - a live recording of the long-form theatre performance re-staging the Dáil Debates of (1921–1922) at the original location where they took place in Earlsfort Terrace. Based on adaptation of original transcripts by Theo Dorgan, directed by Louise Lowe in 2022 and filmed by Tiny Ark. THE TITANS (191 mins): DAYS 5–8. The Dáil is now in Public Session. Arthur Griffith proposes adoption of the Treaty, De Valera opposes this.

Feelings can be hard for a six-year-old to understand, luckily Katie has her best friends Barry and Betty to help her out.

Nessa, an archeologist at odds with the establishment and haunted by violent dreams of Celtic sacrifices tries to find an ancient relic supposedly from the De Danann period (pre 500 B.C.) called the "Danu Amulet."

An Irish animated short film

With college graduation on the horizon, two slacker film students begin to lament their past four years of complacency.

A young couple, on the verge of bringing their first child into the world, are at a loss to find the joy of it when terrifying news from the doctor, as well as unspoken secrets, begin to tear the relationship apart. Meanwhile, an older couple, having received an even graver medical prognosis, look back on their lives and wonder if there's still time to tie up loose ends. When the couples' paths entwine, nothing will ever be the same again.

An interviewer is tasked to interview two men who may have connections to the “Tortoise Gang”, a gang that uses tortoises to steal valuable treasure

A dialogue free student short film that centers around the mental health of today's youth. The film tells the story of 'Michael' a twenty year old recent college drop-out and his mental health struggles. The film is set over two different days in his life; the first when Michael was still in college and the second where Michael heads to the beach in search of some 'Refuge

Aron, a single thirty something, attempts to navigate falling in love, while struggling to hide his insecurities.

When ex-best friends Orla and Meghan run into each other as adults, their past reminds us that being disabled is hard but being a teenage girl is harder.

A small rural community in Ireland welcomes in a major, global oil company with open arms but just 10 years and numerous oil spills later, that dream turns into an unimaginable nightmare. 50 lives were lost in a tragedy that silenced and divided the community and still haunts it to this day.

Abigail lives with her strict extremist family who live their lives religiously, literally. As she struggles with her faith, Abigail is approached by an angel who delivers her the good news; she’s pregnant with the Second Coming of Christ! Lost and distraught, Abigail is torn between herself, her family, and church.

Part of a Canadian educational series, this visual illustration of the poem ‘The Beggars of Dublin’ by renowned Canadian poet Alden Nowlan follows a visitor to Dublin, as he disembarks from a plane and wanders the streets of Dublin encountering beggars and homeless people along the way.

In this dark satire family drama, Aidan, an experimental AI, has an unsettling realisation that shatters his digital existence driving him to seek an end there, where he never truly belonged.

Wrath is a short horror-drama which weaves the story of Badhbh, the goddess of war & destruction from Irish mythology, throughout a haunting narrative to interrogate the idea of the loss of bodily autonomy women experience in the journey from girlhood to womanhood and exacts a bloody and cathartic revenge on the patriarchy for creating this phenomenon.

Celtic Maidens celebrates the performances of those who have taken part in international beauty contests down through the years.

Irish emigrants in London and New York are contrasted with life in Ireland where unemployment and deprivation are said to be endemic. The experience, effects and meaning of emigration in 1980s Irish is examined using a combination of interviews with emigrants, commentators and politicians. The film also features inserts of a stand-up comic performing in various locations, adding a surreal element to the programme.

Through the eyes of International Chess Master Paul Cassidy, this documentary traces a lifetime of strategy, triumph, and heartbreak, from representing Ireland on the world stage to confronting the loss that nearly ended his career, and ultimately rediscovering joy through the enduring support of the Dun Laoghaire Chess Club.

An African and African American debate on the ongoing diaspora war within the black community. Set entirely across the centuries-old East African Mancala strategy game, Bao, the film fuses historical archive with lived experience to wage a fierce interrogation of Black identity and pride.

Stertched images along stretched time.

When Olivia is pushed to her limit, she has to find the determination and inner strength to carry on through life’s most difficult times.

Two close friends meet late at night to talk

An artist obsessed with Edvard Munch struggles to create an original work.

Reality Babies are lifelike, new-born baby dolls given to teenagers to care for - they cry and feed and wake through the night, just like a real baby. This short documentary follows a group of friends as they take on the responsibility of looking after these infants.

When a star in the sky wakes up in a teen boy's body, he must grapple with the tasks of every day life and find meaning within his vast universe.

Temple of My Familiar is the name of a mural painted in Belfast by Canadian artist Nhan Duc Nguyen. This documentary situates Nguyen’s art within the political context of war-torn Northern Ireland, and explores the artist’s own cross-cultural search for an identity spanning East and West.

For more than a decade, wildfires of unprecedented force have been devouring our lives, homes and forests at a steady pace. Each year, 350 million hectares of forest go up in smoke, the equivalent of six times the size of France. In the US, the fire season now lasts up to two months longer than a generation ago, and the surface burnt annually has multiplied by three. This film sets out on a gripping journey of investigation from Europe to the US, Canada, Brazil and Indonesia to follow the work of a global team of dedicated firefighters, scientists and fire experts as they investigate why our forests are going up in flames, and act on an unexpected discovery: if we want to save our forests, homes, health and our climate, we need to radically change our attitude towards fire and the way we fight wildfires.

Dubliner Andrew Maxwell is more than a stand up comedian - he's your clown and friend. Renowned for his unique blend of comedy and well-observed fast-paced streams of consciousness, Andrew's first ever live DVD has been filmed in his hometown, Dublin.

A mother’s return to dating triggers a terrifying chain of events when her teenage son’s online prank spirals out of control, turning virtual resentment into real-world terror.

When the Rising starts, the local sweet shops are the first to be looted by Dubliners living in the tenements. Noel and Tom race off and leave their mothers and sisters at home but the havoc of the next few days will come right to everyone’s door.

On Halloween night, a wannabe influencer follows her GPS through the maze of Ireland's ancient roads, but gets stopped at a surprising temporary traffic light that won't turn green.

The story of one of New York's darkest secrets: An island where one million American souls are buried. Those who fell through the cracks of the American dream buried by prisoners from Rikers Island.