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The Chicago Irish Film Festival proudly presents our Opening Night Gala feature VERDIGRIS, the evening includes a pre-screening reception with drinks and buffet.
Trapped in a marriage with a volatile and controlling husband, middle-aged, middle-class Marian takes on a secret part-time job as a census enumerator. The job is no picnic. On her tough inner-city route, she faces dismissive and abusive locals who flatly refuse to engage in the census. This includes brash and no-nonsense teenager Jewel, who Marian soon realises is living alone with no obvious means of supporting herself.
Marian finds herself striking a deal with Jewel – she won’t report her to the authorities if Jewel helps her get the locals to fill out their census forms. As they walk the streets of Dublin, an unlikely friendship blooms.
Patricia Kelly, Director | Paul FitzSimons, Producer
John Conlan, Music | Geraldine McAlinden, Actor
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Director: Pat Collins
Cast: Barry Ward, Anna Bederke, Lalor Roddy
Joe and Kate Ruttledge have returned from London to live and work among the small, close-knit community near to where Joe grew up. Now deeply embedded in life around the lake, the drama of a year in their lives and those of the memorable characters around them unfolds through the rituals of work, play and the passing seasons as this enclosed world becomes an everywhere.
THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN is an adaptation of the final novel from John McGahern, one of Ireland’s greatest novelists.
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After an experimental drug trial goes awry, the test subjects face a terrifying side effect: if you fall asleep you die. Trapped in an
isolated medical facility chaos ensues as they try to escape.
An orphaned heiress is forced to embrace her family’s dark legacy when her Uncle Silas’s sinister intentions become clear and more than here inheritance is at risk.
A tense drama unfolds as the Wards prepare to abandon their lives, escaping a dire financial situation but a last-minute change of heart leaves them fighting for survival.
Tells the story of Finn, an aspiring actor who makes a living working in a restaurant in Dublin. A meeting with a famous director with a dark past ends up in conflict.
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From the makers of Gaza comes a new cinematic odyssey that penetrates deep below the surface of Beirut, a still beautiful, yet deeply troubled city on the brink of financial collapse.
A prize fight between underdog Steve ‘The Celtic Warrior’ Collins and champion Chris ‘Simply the Best’ Eubank grips an entire nation.
‘Stolen’ reveals how women who fell pregnant ‘out of wedlock’ were treated in an Ireland that was heavily influenced by the catholic church. Over 80,000 unmarried mothers were incarcerated in mother and baby institutions run by nuns from 1922 to 1998.
On January 31, 1984, Ann awakens to realize that she was going to have this baby. Having left the house early, Ann scurries around to find somewhere to hide, lost and frightened. Based on the true story of Ann Lovett.
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Set in the Beara Peninsula in the southwest of Ireland, the film follows the day-to-day lives of sheep farmers as they negotiate the demands of the terrain, changing societal attitudes, and the impact of globalization.
Based on the epic poem iGirl by Marina Carr. A narrator unravels her own life like a knotted ball of string, reflecting with dark humour and heavenly wit on humanities destiny and evokes voices past and future.
Kawa Nemir, renowned Kurdish translator, goes on an epic journey to bring Joyce’s literary masterpiece ULYSSES from the Irish sea to the Kurdish mountains.
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In this program, we hope you’ll rediscover films you’ve loved and uncover those you might have missed. Presented by Barry Dignam, CIFF Alum and Head of the Department of European Projects / FilmEU at IADT-Dublin.
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Tom Berkeley | Ross White
1849. Having fled the Great Famine, two warring Irish sisters seek their fortunes in the gold rush. But with winter fast approaching and nothing to show for their efforts, their age-old feud soon threatens to become deadly. Part of Shorts 1.
Not sure if this is your last day or the first day of a better life? These films are filled with passion, regrets, revenge and one really amazing mom!
Sometimes you just have to take a chance and go for it. You might meet a president, save a forest or save yourself.
It’s never easy to take that first step, the one that may change your life forever, but these films are filled with people who did; for the earth, for a cause, for themselves, and for love.
Maybe! From inner voices of hope and reflection to voices that might question one’s sanity, this group of films is filled with everything from poetry to hilarity and a lot of honesty.
This special program was created by the folks at Dublin Animation Film Festival for our favorite 3-6 year olds!
Will Izzy make a friend? | Will the Mr. Humbug smile? | Will Milo’s Meltdown melt the ice? | Will Ray miss his caterpillar?
Lots of questions and wonderful adventures in this specially selected group of animated films from Ireland.
From that age old question of what to wear on picture day to telling your teacher you really don’t want to do something this family friendly section of short films can be enjoyed by parents and kids from ages 7-10.
In 1970s rural Ireland, the murderer of an IRA safe house operative, must be stopped before executing his master plan. A psychological crime thriller and small-town politics.
Worn Out, Played Out, Strung Out. 10 Years after Punk band Crust split up the band members lives have fallen apart, but Drummer Bonehead has one dream: getting the band back together for one last show.
At 90, Seamus Molloy’s only companions are the cats he chases away, a neighbor’s dog, and the clock ticking on the wall. After a 60-years absence, a letter arrives from the past. This time his life could be disrupted.
The story of the men and women who set out at the turn of the century in 1900 to create a National Theatre in Ireland. The tale is told with love and humor by the filmmaker.
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