Discoveries from Ireland World Cinema

A young boy on the edge retaliates against his cruel school bully. This film presents a complex character study of the bully, consumed by grief and a tumultuous relationship with his mother.

A tourist walks into a Dublin pub looking for directions and encounters Ding Dong Denny O’Reilly at the bar. Ding Dong insists on telling him the ‘real’ history of Ireland over a number of pints. From the Normans to the Famine to 1916 and the sex shops of O’Connell Street, we hear Ding Dong Denny’s delusional take on events that shaped this nation. Ding Dong is a comic creation of comedian Paul Woodful, and is his first adventure into animation.

A man living in the rural west of Ireland builds the means to escape the pains of his existence.

Following veteran campaigner Ailbhe Smyth as she navigates the complexities of convincing a historically conservative electorate to vote for women’s reproductive autonomy, The 8th tells the story of how Ireland overturned one of the world’s most restrictive laws on abortion. This documentary is a vivid exploration of the political and cultural history that charts the transformation of a country

Don wants to reconnect with his estranged family. His partner, Lisa wants to live a life free of his violent rages...

A very short film on the exploration of textural nuances through the city of Dublin. Shot on iPhone. Accompanied by a score.

When New York Police Department Officer, Carol Shaya posed nude for Playboy magazine she drew the wrath of many of her female colleagues. They felt that her striptease in uniform knocked their progress back by twenty years. In another case, Sergeant Cibella Borges was sacked from the force in 1983 for appearing in a hard core men’s magazine. Her case was taken to the High Court where she was reinstated. NYPD Nude interviews Carol, Cibella and other women within the NYPD and explores the boundaries between private and professional life in the Carol Shaya case.

11 year-old Jenny wants to rekindle her once close relationship with her older sister Lisa but Lisa's new friends have other ideas.

The film pays homage to the revitalization of the art of poetry in the Polish language in the second half of the 20th century. Its visual style is based on underground publications in Poland in the 1970s and 1980’s, known as Bibula.

A young couple's relationship is altered after an abortion.

When city residents hire a bus to bring them on a tour of coastal roads, one of the passengers dies suddenly. The driver suspects that the passengers are keeping secrets about the dead man.

On the remote coast of Connemara, a runaway trans-teenager has a chance encounter with a bereaved, suicidal fisherman that see's the two form an unlikely bond.

The Irishman Tomás Ó Cuirín (1877-1938), known as Tom Crean, was one of the greatest heroes in the history of Antarctic exploration: he participated in three of the greatest expeditions, shared adventures with Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Henry Shackleton, the great rivals of the time, and survived them both. However, today he is a practically forgotten figure.

Sinead O’Connell balances the daily chores of single motherhood with the pressures of making a living in the online sex industry. She loves her kids and her work, but they both demand her attention. This film demands yours…

A documentary in which Brendan Behan acts as guide to Dublin.

Pulling Up Roots is the emotional journey of a woman who is navigating the tenuous strain between the past and the future.

A young girls obsession with the King of Pop 8 years after his death leads to an obsession with a stranger and a hurricane.

Ife, a young Black Irish woman, is anxiously awaiting her 20-week pregnancy scan, hoping for good news about her baby's health. But when the scan reveals unexpected complications, she and her husband, Darragh, are forced to confront a ridiculous reality that will test their trust in the health-care system. As Ife deals with confusing cramps, weirdly casual medical staff, and her mother's cryptic warnings, the couple faces a terrifying yet darkly comedic reality about motherhood, health-care, and family secrets. Equal parts surreal and hilarious, this film flips the script on what it means to be a mother-especially when the stakes are higher than you'd expect.

A Nigerian taxi driver and his passenger go on a miraculous voyage through the streets of Dublin and Calabar.

Donkey is sick of his minimum wage job at the beach.

Martin, a late night radio DJ, is strangely tasked with doing a giveaway during his show. A series of increasingly odd and disturbing calls strings Martin along a dark journey, taking him down roads he thought he would never cross.

Four sisters grow up together. When one of them comes down with a life-threatening disease, one sister stays to look after her while the others go off to live their lives.

A down on his luck teenager uses the help of an AI to try win over the love of his life.

This is the story of American singer songwriter John Murry who was on the cusp of greatness after the release of his highly acclaimed album The Graceless Age (2013) when his world fell apart.

2 co-workers Joke about robbing a bank until one actually does it and coerces the other as his accomplice.

Seamus Heaney, one of the finest poets writing English language, and the late Richard Ellmann, biographer of Joyce and Wilde and critic of Yeats, in literary dialogue about these three brilliant Dublin writers. The dialogue uses documentary material pertaining to Joyce, Yeats, and Wilde, and was filmed at such literary landmarks as the Hill of Howth, Sandymount Green, Trinity College, and the Joyce Tower at Sandycove.

Jamie is born into a family of professional assassins has his world turned upside down when his now pacifist brother comes home from prison, Adam. Conflict between the brother and the father ensue leaving Jamie with a tough decision.

Six queer friends decide to go camping to spend one last fun weekend together before they go their separate ways, to escape their stresses … well that was the plan anyways.

Two ladies discuss the pros and cons of their mutual addiction to cigarettes.

John Philip Holland is the Clare born inventor of the modern submarine. A self proclaimed pacifist, he created one of the most formidable weapons of war. An Irish patriot, whose first working submarines were funded by Irish revolutionaries in the US, he later developed the first US and British submarine fleets. A self taught genius of the late 19th century, his remarkable legacy is neglected and forgotten.

Expectations of motherhood become haunting spectres for Mary in this surreal and warping short.

Set in 1920 Ireland when the Black & Tans were brought in from Britain to help supress revolution in Ireland. It was the first full length sound movie made in Ireland and tells the saga of an IRA flying column in Kerry and the local Malone family suspected of betraying their country. It was made in and around Killarney by Tom Cooper, the owner of the local cinema who also directs and stars as the head of the local IRA.

The award winning emotional story of a terrorist who takes things too far in his quest for a just world. “A 10/10 peerless masterpiece”- Roger Ebert

Small town teens Diana and Sol are graduating. Diana once dreaded this day, fearing a mundane future, but now has a plan for adventure among the stars with her best friend Sol. When doubt starts to set in, they have to decide whether to pursue their dream or remain in their familiar world.

An observation about an inept but lovable farm dog.

An Irishman is obsessed by fire.

One man's visit to a changing Dublin.

Spud doesn't have much of a life outside of caring for her father. But that's okay. She doesn't feel bad about herself, despite what society says. But one day, everything changes.

An assortment of obscure private obsessions, conspiracies and perversions flicker on the verge of incoherence against the context of vast cosmic disaster in Rouzbeh Rashidi’s boldest film to date. This sensory onslaught combines a homage to the subversive humour of Luis Buñuel and Joao Cesar Monteiro with the visionary scope of a demented science fiction epic.

Cigarette smoke fills the space between Erica and her Da as she prepares for another meeting with her caseworker. Her hope jar is rattled in the dole office, but two seven-year-olds manage to help her piece it back together.

The haunting of Cathnafola House

"Hunting the Hare" is a short film created for singer/songwriter Emma Langford. It has been presented in theatres alongside several short vignettes created between 2022 and 2025. What they have in common is taking a poetic approach to animation and exploring the process of drawing in sand as a kind of excavation, a tracing of thought and memory and a means by which to navigate internal landscapes.

A priest and a grieving wife.

Charlotte lives alone with the internet sensation Charlie; her adorable talking cat. However, she begins to suspect what Charlie is saying might not be so innocent after all.

Set in a Malaysia National Service Camp, the film examines the sentiments of a female Chinese trainee as she is delegated to lead her multiracial female comrades against the backdrop of Malay-Muslim traditions.

2 co-workers Joke about robbing a bank until one actually does it and coerces the other as his accomplice.

‘entzauberung einer stadt’ (eng. de-magic-ation of a city) is a poetic documentary by a German filmmaker living in Dublin. It is his response to the city's housing crisis, harsh weather conditions, and the humanitarian crisis intertwined within. The title shines a light on the theme of disillusionment, reflecting the filmmaker's feelings as he peels back the layers of romanticized notions to reveal a version of truth underneath.

A young Dublin couple illegally move into a local authority flats complex with their two young children in an effort to start a new life together. Things begin to unravel for the young couple and they soon come into contact with the hard pressed local social services.

A middle aged couple in an open relationship fight over their relationship issues, as their children struggle to tell their parents about their own problems.

Shot in Ireland and Poland - a journey that explores ideas of decision, choice, consequence, circumstance and time among other things, a personal perception on how we try to find whatever it is we are searching for.The film looks at objects, people, and places which share common properties, our connection with one another and our environments in the very similar yet very different paths we share.

Paul is a serially unemployed father of three who works one day a week in a run-down mattress showroom. To stimulate sales, proactive Paul invents the goofy persona of Mattress Mick for his employer, Michael, to play, and creates ridiculous videos involving rap songs and monkey puppets. When the oddball clips go viral, Paul sees his chance to monetize the concept and reinvent himself as a social media guru. Can a guy who's been made redundant twice in the past few years use his marketing savvy and entrepreneurial skills to transform his boss into an Internet star? Will Paul gain recognition for his bold ideas or will Michael take all the credit? Set against the backdrop of Ireland's crippling economic austerity and reflecting current workplace conditions, Mattress Men tells the compelling story of a man looking for job security so he can get off social assistance and provide for his family.

In 1946, a young forester was dispatched to the north of Finland to find trees large enough to serve as electricity poles in Ireland. The only surviving record of his hazardous mission are a few telegrams he sent to the home front. Directors Feargal Ward and Adrian Duncan literally follow in his footsteps in this tough trek through the subarctic wilderness, captured in dreamlike, hallucinatory scenes. The fantastic soundscape with high-pitched, sparse tones only intensifies the sense of desolation and mystery.

When life changes and you’re going through a difficult low phase.

This beautifully animated short made in 1956 takes a humorous approach of tourism in Ireland. -IFI Archive

The Horgan Brothers’ film records a pilgrimage to St Declan’s Holy Well, Ardmore, 1910

When young Hiba's sister runs away with a boy of a lower class, her family struggles to come to terms with the scandal.

Set within the vast countryside of rural Ireland, 'Dear Imelda' follows the unwanted open-ended arrival of Grandson Ciaran to his Nanny Imelda's traditional home. Desperate to cling to her independence, Imelda disputes the need to have Ciaran dropped into her life, especially when he takes the presumption of installing something which he requires to work from home, the internet. In an attempt to mediate the ongoing friction, Ciaran demonstrates the benefits technology could contribute to his Nanny's off the grid lifestyle. In doing so, he discovers that he has the ability to play a vital role to a friendship on hiatus some 60 years.

Following the death of their friend, two teenage boys must open up to one another in grief or risk the same fate.