Irish Film and Television UK (IFTUK) will bring its annual festival to the heart of London from November 13 to 17, unveiling a line-up that celebrates the very best in Irish filmmaking. Taking place at Vue West End, Vue Piccadilly and the ICA, Irish Film Festival London will showcase a mix of feature narrative, documentaries and short films shedding fresh light on the country’s culturally dynamic past, present and future.
The festival opens with Aoife Kelleher’s feature documentary Mrs Robinson, an illuminating portrait of Ireland’s first female president Mary Robinson. With extraordinary access, the film reveals a singularly influential force whose gift for bridging differences was instrumental in bringing about seismic change in Ireland. Mrs Robinson pays tribute to a woman who remains actively committed to peace, justice, and human rights to this day.
From the highest echelons of Irish politics to the grit of the land itself, the festival is set to close with Christopher Andrews’ visceral feature debut Bring Them Down, a thriller set on a farm starring Barry Keoghan (Saltburn, Bird), Christopher Abbott and Colm Meaney. Shot in Wicklow, this Belgian co-production stunningly evokes rural Ireland through a nail-biting story of feuding shepherds, marking Andrews as an exciting name to watch.
As well as spotlighting new talent, the festival will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Neil Jordan’s hugely influential classic The Company of Wolves (pictured above and top), with an exclusive screening followed by a Q&A with the director. A cinematic breakthrough on its release in 1984, this unsettling Freudian fantasy, co-written with renowned author Angela Carter, is still lauded for its astonishing use of non-digital practical effects.
Source/images: TPR Media
